A New Orleans Problem
by lostcowgirl
Summary: A man from Kitty's childhood in New Orleans appears in Dodge to stake his claim on her.  Will he ruin her life and those of her friends?  An ATC to Kitty's Outlaw
1. Chapter 1 Just the Man I Don't Want

**Chapter 1 – Just the Man I Don't Want to See**

Cole Yankton was dead and his memory buried along with him more than three months ago. Winter had settled in, so very few strangers walked into the Long Branch. One particular stranger, a handsome man in his mid-30s with curly black hair and grey eyes and dressed like a riverboat gambler, did just that. He'd come into town on the westbound stage from Abilene, checked into a room at the Dodge House, took the time to wash the dust off and sauntered across the street to the saloon. If his luck held, and based on the names above the door it just might, he'd confirm what he'd learned in Abilene by setting his eyes on his quarry.

Kitty Russell was putting out the bread and meats for the free lunch while her partner Bill Pence was on his way back from the cellar with a fresh keg of beer in preparation for the lunchtime crowd of mostly regulars. Some would order meals of stew or fried chicken, which the cook would have ready shortly. The stranger walked toward the bar and stood just behind Kitty. With his right hand he jangled a number of coins as he threw them onto the smooth wood of the bar.

Startled, but only momentarily, Kitty let her professionalism take over. She moved around the end of the bar that held the food and turned to face the first lunchtime customer.

"What can I get you?" she asked "You're welcome to sandwiches if you buy a beer for a nickel. Whiskey's 20¢ a shot, $1 for the bottle."

"It's been a few years Kitty, but now that Cole's dead, I've come to collect what's mine. I hear the local law shot him after a bank holdup. I'll have a whiskey on the house to give your brain a minute to register my meaning."

Kitty's eyes widened in recognition but she managed to keep her voice under control as she replied. "There's nothing here that's yours, Denis L'Hommedeu. If you want whiskey, you're welcome to it, but only if you pay for it."

L'Hommedeu reached for her across the bar and started to pull her towards him as Bill set down the keg and groped for the mallet he kept behind the bar for such occasions while keeping his eyes firmly planted on the stranger. At that moment, Matt Dillon strode through the batwing doors, drawing his pistol as he advanced into the room. Normally he would have simply walked up to him, pulled him back, spun him around and knocked him cold with a fist to the jaw, but Bill was closer and something about the stranger said he needed to be shot if he didn't back off from Kitty.

"I'd advise you to let go of the lady right now because if you don't I might shoot you before Bill knocks you on your head with his mallet."

"I'll let her go for now, but you and the bartender may just change your tune even though that whore's name is on the sign above the door as half owner. Her daddy wouldn't like it if I broadcast all over New Orleans that his Kitty's a saloon whore. He'd rather bury her besmirching of the family name now that it's too late for him to prevent it. I doubt he even likes her name on a saloon even if he did make sure she learned how to take its customers."

"That's enough out of you. I know all about her father's preferences. You've got until the next train to get out of town. It leaves in two hours. If you miss it, I'll personally put you on the stage that leaves an hour later. In the meantime, stay away from Kitty and the Long Branch if you want to stay in one piece."

L'Hommedeu didn't argue with Matt's gun or his expression. He left the bar and walked past him toward the batwing doors. Matt followed behind and watched as the gambler crossed Front Street toward the Dodge House before turning back toward Kitty and Bill Pence.

"Kitty, who is he? He acted like he knows you, but if he so much as glances at you again he'll wake up in my jail two days from now."

"Matt, I believe you hate him as much as I do and you don't even know him. He was Cole's best friend back in New Orleans. Cole asked him to look after me when he left for California until he sent for me, but Denis took it to mean that I was a gift to him if Cole lost interest in me. Still, while there was a chance Cole might actually think of me as something more than a conquest, he didn't step too far out of line, at least not directly to his way of thinking. Thanks Matt for taking care of him. I'll see you upstairs around 7. I'll fix our supper tonight. I'm not up to going out, but could sure use your company."

Matt headed back to his office, but sent his assistant Chester Goode to find out if L'Hommedieu got on that eastbound train as ordered. If he didn't, Matt was prepared to see him off on the stage. Chester followed L'Hommedeu from the Dodge House to the train depot, remaining until the man boarded and the train started to pull out of the station. However, the New Orleans gambler jumped off the far side of the train before it picked up enough speed to make the jump unsafe.

L'Hommedeu waited until the crowd dispersed and then made his way through back alleys toward the Long Branch where he melted into the early afternoon crowd. He hid himself in an alcove where he could watch the room. He now had two reasons for staying. He was taking the redhead back to New Orleans with him or, if he couldn't force her, kill her. He also intended to kill the big man who ordered him out of town. Nobody ordered Denis L'Hommedeu out of a dirty cow town. With Cole dead, Kitty was now his property, the glorified policeman's implied claim notwithstanding. Yeah, he'd noticed the tin badge. He realized Cole had never expressly given her to him, that wasn't Cole's way, but it was how Denis saw it. Still, his best friend was quite taken with her and might just have had in mind to marry the vixen. Therefore, he'd waited until now to fully claim her as his and never for marriage. It made no difference to him her New Orleans lineage. Thanks to the blind eye of her father and his own hand in what she became, she was soiled goods, forever banned from respectability. Still, he wondered if the marshal paid for her services or simply took them as part of his percentage for allowing her to have it appear that she was part owner. Was he the Pence on the saloon sign?

The bartender from earlier had left for his supper leaving Kitty alone at a table where she was going over a large ledger. L'Hommedeu quietly approached the table, grabbed her so she couldn't cry out and forced her to her feet. Then he herded her toward the stairs and up them toward the rooms he was sure were reserved for the private pleasure of the customers. He had to admit that for a frontier town this was a pretty classy place. He indicated she should lead him to the most luxurious of the rooms. Kitty struggled, but was no match for his strength. By the time they reached her door she decided it was better to appear to cooperate. All she had to do was stall him until Matt arrived in less than an hour. At that point, they heard movement downstairs and a voice call out in surprise, Fred, the evening barkeep.

"Bill, Miss Kitty," he called out. "Anybody here?"

"I'm upstairs Fred," Kitty replied when she managed to convince Denis it would be best. "I was about to come down again, but now that you're here I'll take my time and change for tonight's special customers."

Kitty retrieved her room key from her skirt pocket and opened the door. L'Hommedeu pushed her inside ahead of him and turned the lock. When he turned toward her, she was standing by the round table where she and Matt would have supper staring at her tormentor as if waiting for further instructions. She stood her ground as he walked slowly toward her, obviously impressed with the main room.

"Those special customers may have a long wait, but I can see why they'd want to come up here," Denis said as his left arm encircled her waist and his right hand fondled her breasts through her afternoon gown, which was revealing but not as revealing as what she would normally wear for the nighttime customers. "I'm glad you've decided to accept the fact that you're now mine to do with as I see fit. It's been a long time since I had any control over you and I plan for us to get reacquainted before I send you back downstairs to woo the customers. I'm sure you're a lot better at pleasing them then you were when I left you back in Laredo. Oh, in case you might have other ideas, I'll choose which ones you bring up here and for how long."

"Whatever you say, Denis. Do you mind if I sit at my dressing table and redo my hair first? Perhaps you'd prefer that I unpin it for you and let it hang down my back. I can pin it back up later in any style you want. You may have noticed the chafing dishes on the table to keep it warm. I started supper cooking in the kitchen downstairs and brought it up here just before Bill went to his own supper. I made enough for two just in case someone special came by to share it with before turning to other things. It looks like that someone is you. If you're wondering, I'm a good cook."

While L'Hommedeu was agreeing to allow Kitty to unpin her hair and to eating supper with her before learning the secrets her body had to offer, Matt returned to the saloon for his rendezvous with Kitty. He looked at Fred, who nodded before Matt headed for the stairs and climbed them. He was about to knock to let Kitty know he'd arrived when he heard a man's voice coming from within. It was the voice of the man he'd thrown out of town earlier, the man Chester told him had boarded the train. Obviously, he got off and came back. Instead of knocking, Matt kicked the door open.

Denis L'Hommedeu was standing with Kitty, who now had her hair down, at the foot of the big brass bed. He drew his derringer from his pocket as Matt stood in the doorway, but didn't fire in the expected direction. Before the marshal realized what was happening, the gambler put the tiny pistol against Kitty's side and pulled the trigger as he yelled, "You filthy redheaded whore, you tricked me."

Matt stood there momentarily stunned. He missed the chance to fire immediately, ending L'Hommedeu's life but the gambler dropped his weapon as soon as he shot Kitty and she fell to the carpeted floor. Lawman and man fought within Matt. He stood frozen in shock with his pistol drawn and cocked, wanting to race to Kitty's side but also wanting to kill the man responsible.

Given the short respite, L'Hommedeu spoke. "I told her she was completely mine now but if she thwarted me in any way, I'd shoot her. She knew you were coming all along. I smelled it when I saw the supper for two ready and waiting even if the table wasn't set. By the way, Marshal, I learned enough before you came up to know you're not Bill Pence. Are you paying him for this special treatment or are you the one who thinks he owns her?"

"Kitty's her own woman," Matt found himself replying. "She's sure not mine in the way you mean, but I care about her very much, so before I forget I'm a lawman you're either gonna pick up your pistol so I can kill you right where you stand or you can leave it where it is and head downstairs with me. I'm sure someone heard the gunshot even from that little bitty thing so you've no other choices."

Matt was right. Chester stood in the doorway gazing in shock at the scene before him, Kitty on the floor apparently dead and Mr. Dillon frozen in place facing her killer. In that short instant L'Hommedeu grabbed his derringer and fired toward Matt, but Matt suddenly awakened by his assistant's arrival was quicker. The gambler's shot went wide as he fell dead from a bullet through his heart. Now he, man and lawman, he was all business.

"Chester, go get Doc and somebody to get this piece of filth out of here," Matt ordered as he bent down to pick up Kitty and carry her to her bed, any thought of a romantic supper together forgotten.

As he gently turned the covers down and placed her on the bed Matt had no idea if she was still alive. If she was breathing, it was too shallow for him to tell and there didn't seem to be a pulse. In less than five minutes Doctor Adams was at Kitty's side, his medical bag open, sending everyone but Matt away. As soon as hot water was available he washed himself thoroughly and sterilized his instruments in the alcohol and boiling water mixture while the distraught lawman removed any clothing that would interfere with the operation as well as her shoes. Glancing at Matt, Doc, after picking up a faint heartbeat through his stethoscope, steeled himself to probe her right side for the bullet and remove it before she lost any more blood. He didn't find it there. It had traveled through her body to rest against the muscle on her left side.

"Mr. Marshal, if you don't think you're up to it, I'll understand. All I ask is that you get one of the newer girls, who hasn't got to know Kitty well yet, to assist me instead of you. I need to remove this bullet now if she's to have any chance."

"Doc, I'll stay now that I know she's still alive. Having something useful to do will help me keep it together more than sitting and waiting."

Doc worked tirelessly to save Kitty's life while Matt handed him whatever he asked for and held her steady while the bullet was removed. With the bullet gone, the town's physician stitched the entry and exit wounds closed and bandaged her midsection. He checked her pulse, which was weak but steady, and allowed Matt to put a nightgown down over her head and pull the covers up under her chin. There was nothing left to do but wait.

Matt, who had hung his hat and gun belt on the pegs by the door, sat on the free side of Kitty's big brass bed to remove his boots. He then as gently as he could, so as not to disturb the unconscious patient, shifted his large frame so his back was against the headboard and his feet hung straight out before him. Doc meanwhile, pulled up one of the chairs by the other side of the bed. Both men gazed down at the woman they cared more for than they could admit even to themselves.

"Matt, you can get back to your marshaling now. I don't need you here. Despite the exceptional skill of her personal physician I still can't be sure she'll make it. The bullet nearly passed all the way through, but at that close a range I can't be sure what internal damage might have occurred even though it was only a small caliber bullet. I'll know more in the morning when she wakes up; if she wakes up."

"Doc, I don't care how much you object, I'm not leaving her side. Why don't you go get some rest? I can send someone for you if there's any change. You did everything you could so if she doesn't make it, it's my fault. I should have shot the bastard earlier today long before he shot her. Instead, I told him to get out of Dodge."

"I see I'm not gonna change your mind about staying, but I have you know, you overgrown public servant, contrary to the belief of some people in this town, you're not infallible. Any sane man would have stayed on the train and if he didn't, would have fired at you when you kicked the door down not at the woman beside him. Then again, any sane man would know Kitty's not a woman you can force into anything. Of course, there's one stubborn fellow I know who can't grasp the fact he's the only one who can provide her with what she does want."

Matt gave him a withering look before they both fell silent. Both men eventually nodded off, Matt on the bed and Doc with his body falling sideways from his chair so his head rested on the night table.


	2. Chapter 2 Girl in New Orleans

**Chapter 2 – A Girl in New Orleans**

Cole was gone. He'd left her a mere week after she'd surrendered herself to him for California to make his fortune. Although he promised to keep in touch and eventually send for her, she wasn't sure he would. Her mind was all in a jumble. How could she go back to her old life? Old life, that was funny. She wasn't even 14. Could it be only 15 months since she left her comfortable surroundings at Panacea Sykes' Gambling House? She had her own cheerful room, her friends, school and Pan's loving lessons and attention until, at the tender age of 12, she was abruptly uprooted and this time there was no real excuse. Pan was very much alive, as was her means of earning a living, not like when her mama passed on. It had been scary when Pan came to get her at home two days after her tenth birthday and then, after the funeral, escorted her to her new home. Now, she missed the comfort and care Pan gave her.

Somehow Kitty Russell knew her father was behind all the changes in her life, except for Cole Yankton. Wayne Russell had decided she'd learned all she could from the matronly yet nimble-fingered Pan, although Kitty felt she still needed the woman who'd become her second mother. He'd decided she needed to be with a woman who had experience with a broader segment of the fun loving segment of the city that she called home. At least there was still school and her friends from before her mother passed like Lucy Kritt. Her father may be the black sheep of the Russell family, but he was a Russell and her maternal relations, the Du Pree family, were even higher up in New Orleans society. Even Wayne Russell, a dark-haired charmer, wasn't cad enough to deny his only daughter continued exposure to her birthright, but that didn't stop him from wanting to train her to help him with his business endeavors. Therefore, he sent her to live and learn from a woman who could teach her more about making her own way while still seeing that Kitty continued her schooling.

Julie Blane, a comely blond, was married and ran an establishment for the most respected businessmen of New Orleans and their sons with her husband where gambling and other activities took place upstairs in both private and open rooms, at least for the gambling. Her father felt this took care of the proprieties necessary to the upbringing of a girl who would take her place in society in less than three years. Kitty again had her own room in the couple's living quarters on the top floor of the building. Only family and servants, all of whom slept in the attic, were allowed on the third floor. Her room, although smaller and not quite as airy as the one at Pan's, had its own washroom and dressing room attached. Also, unlike at Pan's Kitty received a salary of sorts. It was definitely larger than a mere girl's allowance, which meant she could go shopping with her friends and buy dresses and hats and other items of importance to a girl on her way to becoming a lady.

The woman and girl took a shine to each other when they noticed they shared many personality traits and abilities. Julie recognized the blue-eyed, redheaded beauty had brains as well. She began teaching the still skinny girl, who already showed signs of the beautiful woman she'd soon become, the ins and outs of running the business end of the entertainment house including what to expect of the girls. Some of them weren't much older than Kitty, but all of them lacked her exposure to society. They could act like ladies, but it wasn't something they were raised from infancy to be. Julie also gave Kitty the free time necessary to socialize with her friends and relatives, although Kitty wasn't considered old enough to attend society's social gatherings. Work and the associated practical lessons, which increased when she passed her 13th birthday, were during specific hours, but flexible enough to allow for attending special occasions. Whenever she worked, Julie kept a watchful eye on her so the men wouldn't pester the young and naïve girl, just as Pan had.

It was at the Blane establishment that she met Cole the second week in June. The six-foot one ruggedly handsome man with the thick mane of almost black hair had come into an upstairs semiprivate gambling room where she was practicing all she'd learned about cards, particularly poker, while with Pan. She'd just returned from a break when he and his friend Denis L'Hommedeu came in and joined a game already in progress. Cole spotted Kitty and asked her to keep him company while he played. She was flattered that he paid any attention to her at all. He was a grown man, about ten years older than her. His interest increased when she showed him some tricks that helped him win hand after hand. It wasn't long before he was taking her to dinner and for long walks along the river. Julie noticed but let the relationship develop because she felt the young man had honest intentions toward her charge.

It was after one of those long walks, when they'd been seeing each other for three weeks, that he led her up the path to a secluded cottage under the care of an elderly mulatto couple. The house was given to the couple when Cole's family decided they deserved a quiet place to live out their remaining years after spending almost their entire lives as faithful servants. The only thing the family asked in return, although they still belonged to the Yanktons, was that the home always be available should any family member have a special need for it.

"Kitty, you must be thirsty and tired after our long walk in this July heat. Auntie Letty will be glad to get us some of her very special lemonade."

The two of them sat on the sofa in the parlor sipping their lemonade. As their glasses slowly emptied, Cole edged closer to Kitty until he'd entwined her in his arms. His fingers softly caressed her body until almost without her knowledge he was gently turning her face toward him. He kissed her lightly on the lips and as she responded, the kiss deepened. Before the kiss ended and a second took its place, he stood and lifted her into his arms. As he talked softly in her ear, Cole carried Kitty toward one of the bedrooms. When they entered she saw Auntie Letty's husband quietly bow toward Cole as they passed him and then close the door behind him. She was alone with a man in a bedroom.

Somehow Kitty was more intrigued than frightened. She knew a proper young lady should wait until after she debuted before being serious with a man, but she also knew that wasn't always true. Even after a girl turned 16 she might give in to a man's charms before the engagement was announced. The Yanktons didn't move in as high circles as the Russells and Du Prees, but there was an overlap and it was sure to be remarked upon that the young and motherless Russell girl was keeping company with their only son who in many ways was a charming near-do-well just like her father.

Cole set her down a foot from the bed where there was a rack to lay her clothes. He took a couple of steps back from her but his eyes never wavered. She could see in her surprisingly relaxed state, probably do to a little something extra in the lemonade, that he was looking over every inch of her body appreciatively. The separation didn't last long. He moved closer to her and invited Kitty to do the same. This time his arms and mouth resumed what they had been doing back in the parlor. His hands became even more caressing and his nimble gambler's fingers began to undo the buttons of her dress as they moved up and down her back. In a few moments he'd slid the garment off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor before picking her up again and carrying her to the bed. As he lay her down on it so that her feet dangled off the edge she noticed that the upper linens had been pulled down in preparation.

Ever so slowly her removed her shoes and then moved his hands, gently massaging her legs as he did so, until he reached the top of her stockings. He ever so slowly rolled them down and off her feet, caressing the toes and sole of each foot as he did so. Kitty had never felt anything so sensual in her entire life. She knew she should protest, somehow make him stop before things went any further but it felt so good. Besides, they'd been seeing each other enough that she was certain it wouldn't be long before he proposed. She knew Cole occasionally saw her father so he would have no problem asking for his permission. She hoped the wedding date was well before her 15th birthday arrived.

She was so wrapped up in each passing moment that she hardly noticed Cole had removed all her undergarments and shifted her body so her head rested on the pillows and her feet were now entirely on the bed. However, she did notice him sit on the edge of the bed to remove his shoes and socks. Sometime before he'd taken off his coat and tie, which he'd loosened during their walk.

"Kitty, honey, why don't you sit up and help me unbutton my shirt and run your hands over my chest while I deal with the remainder of my clothing? I'm sure you'll find it stimulating."

She did as he asked and soon their bodies were entwined and he was expertly causing her body to respond to his every need. When he was ready he positioned himself in such a way, and prepared her to such an extent, that it hardly hurt when he took her virginity from her. An hour later, he entered her again. They remained in the bed until Auntie Letty announced supper was near ready. They both made use of the washroom attached to the bedroom they occupied and were soon dressed as if nothing had happened between them. After supper Cole had Uncle Rufus drive them in a carriage back to the Blanes. He went to one of the gambling rooms while she went to her room to change into an appropriate gown for a working evening. She was just heading toward the office to learn what Julie wanted her to do when the woman crossed her path.

"You do realize you're a half-hour late, don't you? Still, what I planned for tonight doesn't involve any of the rooms. I'm gonna teach you how to keep the books. Oh, and Kitty, while we're at it, you might tell me about how Cole Yankton convinced you to go from innocent girl to woman this afternoon."

"Julie, how could you know? Cole and I weren't even holding hands when we came inside and we separated immediately."

"A girl gets a certain look the first time she's with a man she loves no matter how deep that love. You have it. Believe it or not even the girls who work here have been known to carry their bodies with greater confidence and have a new smile to compliment it when they give themselves for the first time to someone they care for instead of who they're paid to please. I can't say I wasn't expecting it, but don't worry, I won't tell Mr. Blane. You're far too young and well bred to become part of that life if I can help it. I only let it progress this far because I feel young Mr. Yankton really cares for you."

Kitty thanked Julie for her help and advice. She agreed to take precautions with Cole and make sure he spoke with her father. Julie kept Kitty as busy as possible with every aspect of the business so that she only had one more chance to be alone with Cole before he made his announcement. It was strange after being together nearly every day for two months to have hardly seen each other that last week. Now he was leaving her, maybe forever.

"Kitty I spoke with your father, just as you asked. I told him I plan to go to California to make my fortune and he agreed it would be for the best until after you're 16. I believe he'd have wanted us to marry immediately if you found yourself with child, but I believe Mrs. Blane helped you take care of any chance of that. Don't worry honey, I'll write to you. I've also made arrangements to make sure you're safe. I've asked Denis to look after you for me and to make sure that's all he does, I told him I'd kill him if he lays more than a protective arm on you."


	3. Chapter 3 New Life on a Riverboat

**Chapter 3 – A New Life on a Riverboat**

Kitty kept away from the men in the gambling rooms in ways she hadn't before, although, except for Cole, she, with Julie's help, never let them take liberties. She was a mortherless girl whose father had placed her in the care of friends who also happened to share his business interests. Like Panacea Sykes beforehand, the Blanes remembered Kitty would debut in a few years. He simply wanted the lady his daughter would become to have a few extra skills that might prove beneficial to him as would marriage to Cole Yankton. That's why he encouraged Yankton in his intentions, only delaying them until Kitty was older and better educated in the ways of a gambler's world within the world that was New Orleans society. He also instructed the Blanes to allow the son of his friend Marc L'Hommedeu to be with his beautiful young daughter because Denis was Cole's surrogate and father and son had convinced him they could be instrumental in the next phase of Kitty's education. It came sooner than expected, but Wayne Russell was ready for it.

August was turning into September when Mr. and Mrs. Blane spoke to Kitty over supper in their private dining room. She missed Cole and resented Denis' presence, one the Blanes seemed to encourage, probably at her father's insistance. The one good thing was Cole kept his promise to write. He'd reached California by sailing across the Gulf to Galveston, Texas and then by riding a stagecoach to California. Although he was always present, she was glad Denis had kept his promise to not touch her as a man would a woman, but she devoutly wished he'd break that promise to Cole by staying completely away from her. There was just something about the man she detested.

"Kitty," Mr. Blane began, "we're going to be moving to San Francisco. There's an opportunity to build an even finer establishment than what we have here. I told your father about it and he decided he didn't want you closer to Cole Yankton just yet, although he assures me he still approves of your marriage in a couple of years. Perhaps you might join us in the future, if you and Cole are living nearby and he approves. Your father thought it would be best if you continued your schooling for a bit longer and went to live on one of the riverboats Marc L'Hommedeu owns. Both men know about Denis' promise to Cole so the young man can more easily keep it if you're living under the supervision of both L'Hommedeus. Of course, your time on the riverboat will further the special education Wayne, that is, your father, wants you to have."

"When do you plan to leave? I need time to adjust to it all. It seems just when I'd become used to living with the two of you instead of Pan I'm forced to adjust to yet another living arrangement, as if being kept apart from Cole wasn't enough. Why can't my father see that going to San Francisco with you would be so much easier on me? It's not as if he's ever shown himself to me since I was a baby. He abandoned my mother so soon after I was born that his having any interest in my upbringing is quite surprising. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm grateful to both of you and Pan, but why couldn't I have gone to live with my maternal aunt and uncle instead after mama passed? Why has papa become so involved in my upbringing since mama's passing, preventing me from leading a more normal childhood?"

"I'm truly sorry," Julie answered. "I know this is hard on you, but your father is your legal guardian and it's up to him where you live and how you're educated. Despite not being a physical presence in your life, he loves you very much, just as he did your mother. He just has a funny way of showing it. I believe he sees a lot of himself in you despite the fact you look so much like your mother when she was a girl verging on womanhood. I'm also sorry all of us who have responsibility toward you and, yes, love you, couldn't have made this change more gradual. Since I'm expecting a baby in about six months, we have to travel to California immediately if we're to get there at all before we lose this business opportunity. We'll be leaving in three days, so you'll have to be packed and ready to move then. If opportunity brings you to San Francisco, be sure to look us up. We'll be glad to spend however long you wish with you either before or after you marry Cole."

Kitty excused herself from the table, her appetite suddenly gone. She ran to her room and threw herself on her bed to cry. Her bed; that was a laugh! It was merely borrowed for three more days. No place had really been home she suddenly realized since her mother died almost four years ago, right after her tenth birthday. She'd been taken by one of the many fevers that plagued New Orleans. Her father was still living, but all he did was take her away from any place and anybody where she might find the home she so desperately wanted without ever showing his face. The people he placed her with were kind to her and even loved her in their own way, but they weren't family. That disappeared when her mother passed and her father didn't find it in his heart to let her remain with her mother's people.

Monday morning, what had been the Blane place of business was turned over to a Mr. Beaufort. He bought the entire place, including the building, its fixtures and the employees unless he chose to fire them all in favor of people of his own choosing. That is, every employee except Kitty Russell. Of course, Kitty, although she was paid a small salary, wasn't really an employee. She was a ward living and working there at the discretion of her father. Now, as soon as Denis arrived, she'd be in the same position with Mr. Marc L'Hommedeu and his wife, but they wouldn't be living on the riverboat with her. She'd be under the supervision of Denis and the live-in manager/captain, whoever he was.

By the afternoon, after a final dinner with them, the Blanes, who'd sent whatever they were taking from their home ahead, were off to board their ship while Kitty sat on the top step surrounded by her few belongings. Her clothes and other personal items only took up a couple of trunks and a valise. She was apprehensive. She'd heard from some of the older girls working for the Blanes what life on the riverboats was like, especially for someone as young as her. Would Denis keep her safe like he promised Cole? From what she'd seen of him since Cole left, she had her doubts. He'd have his own definition of keeping her, more like controlling her. Her gloomy thoughts were interrupted by a cheerful Denis racing up the steps toward her followed by a retainer.

"Hello there, Kitty! I see you're ready to start your new life under my direction."

He didn't wait for a reply, but took her arm and the valise, leaving the retainer to carry the two trunks to the waiting carriage. It wasn't until they were seated inside and headed toward the Mississippi that she was able to say anything.

"I'm glad you're happy about my new life, Denis. I don't know how to feel. I don't even know which of your father's boats I'll be living on. All I know is I'll remain at my school, at least for a while longer."

"You'll be on the Bayou Queen, my daddy's finest stern wheeler. Mr. Thomas Rollins will be giving you your work under my direction. When you meet him and are properly situated, you will call him Mr. Rollins. I am no longer simply Cole's friend to you, I am your director, so I am Mr. Denis to distinguish me from my daddy, whom you will address, if you ever interact with him directly as Mr. L'Hommedeu. You'll do everything either Rollins or I say while you're not at that school your papa wants you to still attend, although for the life of me I don't understand why. A proper girls' school may be part of the life your daddy's training you to lead, but some of the life we'll introduce you to isn't part of his agenda. The bit extra was my idea and my daddy agreed it would be the best return for us for the favor we're doing your old man and Cole. Cole will sure be surprised and I'm sure pleased, if he decides he wants you with him again, that you'll no longer be the naïve girl he left but a woman capable of providing all the pleasure he might desire."

The carriage pulled up at their destination and she was escorted on board without any thought to her belongings. Kitty found Rollins intimidating the moment she laid eyes on him in his cabin aboard the Bayou Queen. It wasn't so much his height, like her father he was an inch or so under six-feet, but his muscular build. He was a powerful, balding man of 45 obviously used to immediate obedience, at least from those working for him, just as he would never question his superior's orders. His duties included sizing up the girls brought to him by his employers to see how they might be best used. Kitty felt violated when he ran his eyes up and down her body even though he never came close to touching her. She didn't feel any less anxious when he began to talk with Denis as if she weren't in the room with them yet kept his eye on her so that she was afraid to try and sneak away and run to her Aunt and Uncle Du Pree's house.

"Denis, just how much can I do or have done to the redhead without her daddy stepping in? Did he set any restrictions? He has been known to gamble on this very boat and I wouldn't want to find myself in prison for abusing his daughter."

"Oh, I think you can do just about anything as long as it doesn't show outwardly. Of course, she has to be available for me to escort her back and forth to school. We can explain the restrictions to the headmistress and her friends' parents easily enough. Her daddy isn't taking any chances on a repetition of what nearly happened with Cole Yankton. We two of course know that isn't the truth. Cole made a woman of her. She doesn't have much experience yet but the sight of a man's privates won't be totally new to her either."

"I can work with that. I'll have the ship's doctor examine her regularly to make sure she's rid of any embarrassment that may grow in her. One of the older girls can teach her the use of paint. Come to think of it, I should probably start her off slow and when I do send her on her first encounter it might be after one of the girl's who's been with the man before teaches her what to expect and do. She's young enough that there's plenty of time for her to become one of my top moneymakers for you. By the way, does she have any skills other than being a pretty young thing?"

"Oh most definitely, she learned how to handle cards from none other than Panacea Sykes starting when she was only ten. She's been honing those skills and other gaming talents at the Blane place for about the last couple of years. I'm sure she'll have no trouble making sure the house wins way more than its fair share."

The preliminaries out of the way, the two men escorted her below decks to the cubbyholes that were the girls' cabins. Each had a bed, a washstand with a mirror above it and a wardrobe. Kitty's held none of her dresses, not counting the one she was wearing, that were suitable for a posh girls' school or any others she'd brought in her trunks. Instead it contained several very revealing garments with undergarments to match that she'd never seen before. She hoped she wasn't expected to wear those. She'd die from embarrassment. Her anxiety was becoming fear.

Denis and Rollins blocked her exit from the tiny room. Neither man moved until a powerful woman of 35 with coiled brown hair Rollins had called over joined them. They stepped away to either side of the doorway to let the woman enter. They whispered to her and Denis left, but not before Rollins handed her a set of keys and closed the door.

"Red, this is Belle. She'll be telling you what you need to know and be your escort whenever Denis or I don't want you or when you're on duty. We'll let her know just what we want from you, but leave it up to her to ensure your obedience within the rules Denis put forth to me. If we know your daddy's on board she'll make sure your outfit is primmer and that you're only seen from a distance in the gambling salon. He'll think we're teaching you what he wants you to learn. As far as I'm concerned, you belong to Denis, who's substituting for Cole. Other girls on this and his daddy's other boats also belong to him or his daddy. My limits, as far as your person is concerned, are his and not your daddy's."

Feeling there was nothing else for her to do, Kitty sat down on the bed. Belle joined her as soon as Rollins left. She turned her head and starred daggers with her crystal blue eyes at the brown-eyed woman beside her. This lasted for several minutes before Belle took hold of her shoulders.

"Look honey, I know this is hard for you. You belong to Mr. Rollins', until Mr. L'Hommedieu junior, Mr. Denis to you, who really owns you, comes to get you tomorrow morning. I'd like to give you some time to adjust to your new life since more will be expected of you than dealin' cards and smilin' sweetly. Since you're so young and your daddy's local, Mr. Rollins will start you off slow, but whatever he wants you to do, you'd best do it. If you don't he'll know about it and take it out on your body where nobody can see except maybe the next man he puts you with. I'll try to protect you as best I can, but what I can do has its limits. For instance, you'll be having a visitor or two in the next few minutes and they expect to find you ready. Therefore, first thing you're gonna do is strip down to your birthday suit so Dr. Land can look you over with no obstacles in the way of it, so to speak. Get to it!"

Belle rose and stood by the door while Kitty remained seated. When the girl didn't begin to undress immediately, the woman took the two steps necessary to get back to the bed and threw Kitty back onto it. With one hand she held her down while with the other she pulled off her petticoat. Then, taking her by the waist and sitting her up, Belle unbuttoned her dress and pulled it off. She did this with each garment until Kitty was wearing nothing but her shoes and stockings. I've got you started. Finish it off quickly! He'll be here any minute and you don't want a beating your first day. She obeyed, but wasn't happy about it.

Just as Belle put Kitty's discarded clothing in the wardrobe there was a knock at the door. Belle, not taking her eyes off Kitty, moved toward it as the door was unlocked and opened from the outside. Two men entered. The first was Rollins and the second was a short, skinny man between 35 and 40 with a stethoscope around his neck and carrying a medical bag. Both men leered at the sight as Belle forced Kitty to her feet and turned her around several times. Then she appeared to force her to lie face down on the bed, as the men moved toward her, while whispering assurances in her ear. Belle held Kitty's head and shoulders down while Rollins held her legs and buttocks in place, allowing the doctor to insert a thermometer where a baby's temperature is taken. This was just what Belle had told her to expect. Even so, it was hard to accept the indignity of the doctor's standard practice with the girls. Kitty had never been treated this way, but she was determined not to give them the satisfaction of hearing her cry. Somehow, she held back the tears.

Both men pawed up and down her back and the back of her legs before the doctor removed the thermometer and noted her temperature on a chart. After Belle and Rollins flipped her onto her back, both men repeated the pawing, but on her front, before Rollins spread her legs apart and the doctor, as far as she was concerned, violated her with his fingers, which she later learned was known as an internal examination. Rollins positioned himself so he had a clear view of the doctor's actions. When it was over he shifted position, facing toward her and up close, so Kitty couldn't fail to see the effect this had on him.

"Girl, I know you know what's itching to get out of my pants. The good doc may want a poke at you too. We'll leave it at the internal exam for now. I'll start you off slow to please junior, since I want to keep enjoying all the niceties runnin' this boat provides, including pleasurin' myself with their girls. I can wait to show you how I want you to act with me, and the private customers, later. I'll even wait until you watch the more experienced girls in action. Junior, out of loyalty to Yankton, is restricting his access to you, but he's put no such restriction on me. As to the doctor, he's not allowed to practice medicine off this boat. Too many complaints were lodged by his female patients and some mothers even complained of how he treated their boys."

Belle stood her up and whispered for Kitty to turn so she faced Dr. Land and Rollins as they first dropped and then pulled up and buttoned their pants, each pulling out his male member in between. Her initiation into her new life had begun, they informed her as they opened the door and left. Kitty started toward the wardrobe to dress again, but Belle locked it and put away the key before Kitty in her confused state could get to it. Instead she sat back on the bed and looked questioningly at Belle.

"This is your first day girl. You best get used to things as they are and will be. The rule is on the first day you remain naked and get no food or water until it's time for you to take your place in one of the salons. Mr. Rollins tells me tonight you're to wear medium revealing clothes when he summons you to one of the smaller gambling salons where our more genteel in their tastes customers congregate. Tonight you'll only deal cards. I hear you're quite good at it. Meanwhile, I'll fetch you a tub and hot water. At least I can do that for you. If you need it, there's a potty under the bed. Put it by the wall on the opposite side of where the door opens so I can see it when it's filled up. Knock on the wall behind your bed for me to fetch it. I'm in the next cabin. All you need to remember is follow orders and things won't be so bad. Disobey and you'll be beaten and given to the roughest and most perverted of our customers."

Surprisingly her first night wasn't too much different from dealing in one of the Blanes' gambling rooms, except the players tended to be freer about where and how they touched her. However, she discovered if she didn't flinch at their touch, but pretended to welcome it, Rollins allowed them to give her tiny nibbles of their food and sips of their drink. By the time 2 AM rolled around and Belle escorted her back to her cabin prison, Kitty was exhausted and still somewhat hungry and thirsty. Obeying the woman, who she hoped was her friend, she stripped off her clothes and was quickly under the bedcovers with her eyes closed. She was asleep less than a minute after Belle turned the key in the lock.

Kitty felt like she'd barely slept a wink when the door opened. It was Belle with a breakfast tray. The older woman shook her head when Kitty glanced at the locked wardrobe, indicating she should eat the bacon, eggs and toast provided along with a strong cup of coffee and not think about dressing.

"Red, you need a full stomach if you're to face those society girls I'm told Mr. Denis is taking you to be with. You should enjoy that bit of your old life. Until he comes for you, you're to remain as you are. He'll pick out what you'll wear and watch you dress. The few proper gowns, blouses and skirts you brought are gone. The trunks and valise they were in were stored away while you were dealin'. I'm told Mr. Denis will bring you proper clothes each school morning and take them away when he brings you back. You are not to go to any of your friends or relatives' homes during the time set aside for dinner. Instead you'll eat with your teachers, but your food will be sent over special. I believe what you'll eat is what Mr. L'Hommedeu tells his cook to prepare."

As soon as Kitty finished eating Belle took the empty tray away with her and locked the door. She sat on the bed with her knees pulled up against her body, leaning against the headboard and wondering what was to become of her. It seemed impossible, especially with a locked door and no clothes, for her to escape and if she did how would she get to the Du Pree home? She doubted, at least this first day, she'd have a chance to speak with Lucy or her cousin MIchelle and, even if she did, she doubted either girl would believe her. She was lost in her thoughts when the door opened.

"Kitty, I've brought your outfit for today. You may stand up and move to the washstand so I can watch you prepare for your day at school. I've given instructions to the headmistress to make sure you're not alone so that whatever you tell your young friends reveals nothing about your current living situation and responsibilities. Your daddy was told to let it be discretely known that this extra chaperoning is part of your punishment for activities unbecoming a lady. It wasn't hard to convince him it was the only way to avoid a scandal the Russell and Du Pree families would have a hard time living down. I'm sure Belle informed you of the basic arrangements. Move to the washstand and I'll tell you the rest."

While Kitty sponged herself off, paying particular attention to body parts indicated by Denis, he continued to inform her of what to expect. She was to don her clothes in the exact manner he described and then, when she was fully dressed, Belle would prepare her hair. She could have a daily bath, but it might not always be private, and unless she was working a salon or on her way to a private entertainment cabin, she would remain unclothed. Sunday would not be a day of rest, just a workday that began later. The only personal materials, other than her hairbrush, she'd have ready access to would be her schoolbooks and accessories. This differed from the other girls on board, but then Kitty wasn't a low class urchin used to abuse in all forms, she was born to a place in New Orleans society but had been

"I'm the one who will ever call you Kitty, and only when I'm alone with you in this cabin, except for your school friends. The only people you'll come into contact with who will call you Miss Russell are the members of the faculty at your school. The school servants are the only ones who will address you as Miss Kitty so the form of address doesn't differ from how they refer to the others at the school. At all other times you will answer to Red or, if no other girl is present, girl. Every Saturday, Dr. Land will examine you in the same manner he did yesterday. At least one of three people will watch as he does so, Belle, Rollins and myself. Belle probably told you that the naked with no food or water rule is only for the first day. That's true for most of our new girls. I decided it's not true for you. You will remain unclothed unless instructed to don particular garments, which you'll continue to wear until told to remove them. At that time you will strip them off in the exact manner you're instructed to do so. Any deviation will result in punishment. Your third meal on school days and any food and drink intake on the other days will be based on your behavior and whatever the customer has paid for. The type and amount of clothing you wear and the nature of each assignment will be relayed to you either directly by Rollins or through Belle. Private customers expect to receive what they paid for. Therefore, you will obey them explicitly. If they overstep their authority and instruct you to do something more than that I or my daddy will know and Rollins will take appropriate action. Rollins will have full access to you whenever you're on board and not on private assignment. Finally, I'll know if you've failed in any way to be fully obedient and will see to it that you receive the appropriate punishment. Remember, the only restriction is that nothing show when you're at school or where your daddy might see you. We certainly don't want him to forget himself so everyone knows the truth. As far as he's concerned the new girl for private customers is Red, who's not available to him and he will never be gambling in the same room where you're working. That way he won't know you're Red."

Kitty's life fell into a routine. The only alteration was the occasional letter from Cole in California, which, despite his many faults, Denis never failed to deliver. Gradually she became what people referred to as a soiled dove and there was nothing she could do about it. Some days were easier than others, but her independent streak and temper more than once led to a severe beating or assignment to a customer with perverted leanings and more examinations by Dr. Land than once a week and private requirements from Rollins. She tried to keep these incidents to a minimum. Then, one day in March, one week exactly after her 14th birthday on February 20, 1861 Belle came to her room to tell her to dress in the street clothes she'd brought with her. Kitty gladly complied and followed Belle to Rollins office, a room she hadn't entered since her first day, where Belle left her.

"Red, there's gonna be some changes for you. That's why you're in this room and not my private enjoyment cabin or your cabin. You can stand over in the far corner until Denis arrives. He'll tell you what changes are being made."

Rollins had barely finished speaking when Denis walked into the office with another, older man. They shared the same gray eyes and curly hair, only the older man's hair was gray and his attire was that of a successful businessman. They exchanged pleasantries with Rollins, but ignored the girl until the older Mr. L'Hommedeu addressed her.

"Girl, war means changes. Already travel on the river is affected. Therefore I've expanded my interests and bought into a saloon in Laredo called the Alhambra. After talking it over with your father and my son we've decided that saloon is the best place for you. You can continue to perfect the skills your father wants you to have away from the immediate effects of war. Of course, that means no more school. While there, you may continue to help Denis fulfill his promise to young Yankton by honing your bedroom and other female skills until you're a woman in a girl's body. I agree with my son, it's best for you. He'll be traveling with you as your older brother so as not to raise any eyebrows. To that end you'll have separate cabins on the boat to Galveston and of course separate sleeping accommodations during stagecoach stops on your journey across Texas. That doesn't change the reality. He will rule over you even after you reach your destination, just as he does now. Denis will be my representative at the saloon until duty calls him to the Confederate cause. At that time my business partner there will take over everything, including you."

"Don't I get any say in this? I want to stay here in New Orleans with my cousin and friends. I don't like this new life one bit and haven't since my first day!"

"As daddy said," Denis replied, "the decision was mine. It was never yours. Need I remind you, you're a minor girl child who is semi-promised to a man, who is my best friend. He put you in my hands. Once daddy and I convinced your daddy this was best for both of you, he gave me full in loco parentis authority over you during your absence from home or until Cole sets a wedding date and you become his, whichever comes first. For his protection, as well as yours, your daddy doesn't know where you're going or for how long. Out of courtesy, Cole will know your location, but not the details of your new life. He can pass on the name of the town and a post office box to your daddy if he likes. One more thing, don't get any ideas about telling Cole more than I want him to know. Your letters will be screened – all of them; the ones you receive and the ones you send. You may even write censored letters to your cousin Michelle Du Pree and your friend Lucy Kritt. Otherwise, your life will be no different than it is on this riverboat. Once I take my place as an officer, my daddy's business partner there will, as he already stated, decide your fate unless I send Cole for you."


	4. Chapter 4 New Location, Same Life

**Chapter 4 – New Location, Same Life**

Mr. L'Hommedeu and Denis escorted Kitty to their waiting carriage, which would take them to the L'Hommedeu residence. The two men sat opposite her as the late afternoon sun shone in under the drawn shades. Once the vehicle was in motion both men moved to her seat, taking positions on either side of her. The senior of the two grabbed her feet and began removing her shoes, while the son, enfolding her body with his arms, began to unbutton the blouse of her outfit. Working in tandem, they had her stripped of every stitch of clothing well before they reached their destination. They even removed all the pins from her hair so the red tresses flowed about her.

When they arrived the coachman took them past the carriage house and barn at the back of the property, stopping just behind the barn at the head of a path leading to a small building. The two men lifted their charge down from the carriage, but each kept one hand on her as they set her feet on the path. The chill seeped up through her soles, making her entire body shiver, but they, in their woolen coats, seemed in no hurry to arrive at the door. They seemed oblivious to the fact that even in New Orleans it was cold enough in early March to require at the very least a modicum of clothing, usually including an outer garment of some sort. Kitty's teeth were chattering by the time they reached the building as Mr. L'Hommedeu slowly removed a key from his pocket and turned it in the lock. Letting go of the key, he encircled the girl in his arms, pulling her back while his son stepped up to the door and swung it inward.

Keeping his left arm around her thin shoulders and the right on her right wrist, he forced her to walk with him and follow Denis inside, who then closed and locked the door behind them. By now she was so cold that Kitty looked forward to the relative warmth. The large room before her was a private study lined with books about New Orleans, the Mississippi and its riverboats, among other items. There were also other pertinent business items. Marc L'Hommedeu walked up to the exceptionally large fireplace, while still holding onto Kitty, and pushed a stone on the mantle inward. The back wall slid apart revealing a hidden room. He pushed her into it ahead of him while Denis picked up and lit a lamp just inside the entrance then touched a similar stone on the far side that slid the door closed. They were in a room whose solid walls and lack of windows completely cut them off from the outside world except for the fireplace chimney and a stovepipe fitted into the chimney wall. From the outside it just looked like the back of the building had no windows.

In addition to the hot stove with a large pot of steaming water on it, this room contained a round table, a comfortable chair, what looked like an altered doctor's examination table, a bath and a large bed. A basin under the bed was obviously meant as a chamber pot. While Denis placed the pot between her now separated legs, Marc forced her to bend over the round table and held her down while Denis fetched the necessary materials for an enema. The two men were too strong for her, so she had to submit to the unpleasant procedure, which they explained was only partially to clean out her system of any food remaining. The rest, she knew, was to humiliate her so she had no doubt she was completely in their power. Then they turned her over and forced her to bend backwards against the table, while squirting the contents of a douse bag into her and pouring water down her throat. Despite the embarrassment, Kitty had no choice but to make use of the pot between her feet while L'Hommedeu senior stood over her, holding her firmly in place, and watched. Meanwhile, Denis crossed the room and poured the water from the stove into the bath along with water from a pail to cool it down just enough so it wouldn't burn her.

They unceremoniously dumped her into the tub and handed her soap and a cloth to clean herself off, making sure she followed their instructions for proper bathing by standing over her with the belts they'd removed from their trousers and flicking her with them if her actions displeased them. Told to climb out, she dried herself with the towel Denis provided, again following their orders as to how to complete the process. Stepping behind her as she dried and fluffed her hair with a second towel, Denis tossed the towel aside and took hold of her and brought her to where his father was standing leaning against the other table in the room.

As Denis forced her into a squatting position that put her face just above his father's feet and allowed her hands to awkwardly reach them, the senior L'Hommedeu ordered, "Girl, untie my shoes and remove then and my socks. Then lick my feet."

She did as she was told. The humiliation seemed to last hours, but he gave her further instructions less than a minute later.

While Denis allowed her body to shift to a kneeling position that brought her face level with a portion of Marc's anatomy she'd rather not face, she received further instructions. There was no doubt of Marc L'Hommedeu's intentions; it was simply a matter of how she would help him achieve them.

"Keep your head down so your eyes are on my feet while you reach up with your hands and unbutton my trousers. Good," he continued when she completed the task. "Now, pull them and my drawers all the way down. That's right. You're a smart girl, I'm sure you haven't forgotten you took my left shoe and sock off first and then the right. Do the same with my trousers and drawers. Fine, one more thing before we move to the next step, grab hold of my privates and massage and caress them with your fingers. I'm sure you learned how to do that while on board the Bayou Queen from Rollins if no one else. He might have wanted you to look, but I want your eyes to remain on my feet."

Kitty could feel Marc's privates stiffening in her grasp. That's when Denis pulled her to her feet and Marc shifted position so she could bend forward over the examining table. It was hard because the table was too high for her to bend over it comfortably. She felt something placed inside her that felt like Dr. Long's thermometer, only bigger, and a rubbing on either side of it that became progressively wetter before the instrument was removed. That's when Denis allowed her to straighten and turn around. He held up the largest thermometer she'd ever seen and told her they'd just taken her temperature with a horse thermometer while stimulating themselves on either side of it. She took a quick look at Denis' pants to confirm it before returning her gaze to the floor since both men still held their belts at the ready. He'd missed one of the buttons when he pulled them back up and secured them.

Although her head was lowered, Kitty knew both men were ogling every inch of her torso like they'd been doing since they stripped her of her clothes in the carriage. She wondered how much longer it would continue before Denis took her with him to the Galveston bound boat.

As if reading her thoughts, Marc announced, "Denis needs to help me secure you before he leaves to see the luggage on board, come back here to have a farewell supper with his mother, older sister, her husband and me, and finally join me for my farewell to both of you here. While he's gone, until I leave for supper, you will entertain me for a couple of hours from your secure position." 

That said, they placed her on the table face up with her buttocks just off the edge and strapped her down so she couldn't move. There was a strap around her neck and one around her torso just under her breasts, above her waist. Her legs were tied in stirrups in such a way that her knees were bent outward and her legs spread apart. It was similar to the table and a position she'd been placed in in Rollins private enjoyment cabin. Kitty waited to see what Marc L'Hommedeu considered entertainment. She knew he remained naked from the waist down.

During the entire ordeal L'Hommedeu never came close to her face except to walk around the top of the table. He moved up her left side from her toes kissing and caressing her up to the level of her breasts and kissed and stroked the left one, nibbling at the nipple until it stood erect. He then repeated the process on her right side, this time moving down from her breast. Next, he stepped between her legs, preparing her for his entry, at least in his mind. When he deemed the time right, he thrust hard and deep into her, faster and faster as his need took hold of him. When he was done, he wiped himself and Kitty off with a damp cloth before sitting and ogling her and then repeating the whole process.

After he dressed and left for supper with his family, Kitty was relieved it was over for now. At least his pleasures didn't include beating her while she lay helpless or other unpleasant, to say the least, ministrations. Speaking of supper, she wondered when she'd get to eat again. She wasn't thirsty thanks to all the water poured down her throat, but a bit of food before they boarded the boat wouldn't be unwelcome. She must have fallen asleep because she awoke to the sound of people entering the room.

"Time to get up, sleepy head," Denis jeered as he came to her side. "There's a few more things daddy and I need to do to you before the boat leaves. By the way, this is Minnie. Daddy gave her to me for my 16th birthday to satisfy my needs some eight years ago when she was 12. I reckoned the Alhambra would welcome a colored girl and she can help me keep my promise to Cole during our trip and before we go, seeing as how close I'll be to you in the au natural."

Minnie was a pretty young woman, whose skin was the color of pecans in a lightly baked pie. She was dressed in a simple shift and nothing more, at least that's what Kitty thought from her limited range of vision. The woman stood just within Kitty's vision laying out a girl's dress, petticoat and shoes, along with a bonnet that tied under the chin. The outfit looked more appropriate for a girl of 11 or at most 12 rather than one of 14, but it had to be for her. Kitty hoped the men would release her bonds so she could put them on before her muscles stiffened even more. At least they couldn't ogle her body in the same way if she had some clothes on.

Instead of releasing her, Denis walked up to her face and held a strange object up for her to see. He then joined his father at the opposite end of the table and began to attach the object while explaining its purpose and how he came to have it. It was a chastity belt, like those warn by ladies back in the days of knights like in her books from school, books she suspected she'd never see again. Denis, who had a certain mechanical bent, had created a more modern version, complete with key. He explained she would wear it instead of panties during the duration of their trip except when he released her from it so she could relieve herself. At all other times she would be completely safe from the advances of the men they encountered en route and completely under his control. It also gave him a perfect excuse to put his hands near her privates without violating his promise to Cole. With the device securely in place, the men released her from the restraints and eased her to the floor. She had to hold onto the table for support while her muscles adjusted to the new position, perfectly situated to watch as the men released the arousal brought on by installing the chastity belt on the now naked Minnie.

As soon as she was able, well before the men were through with Minnie, Kitty walked to the table where her wardrobe for the evening had been laid out. She dressed as quickly as she could and sat in a chair surveying herself in the looking glass on the table next to her brush. She was about to pick up the brush to try to fix her hair when Minnie, back in her dress again, strolled over and began to do her hair up with ribbons in a fashion again more appropriate to a younger girl. It seems she was to be allowed neither hairpins nor hatpins. At a nod from Denis, Kitty arose and walked toward him. He took her arm and led her out of the building, with Minnie following in their wake, to the waiting carriage. In a half-hour they were at ship that would take them across the Gulf to Texas. The captain greeted them and personally led them to their cabins. Once the officer was gone, Denis unlocked the door to what would be Kitty's quarters until they docked in Galveston early the next afternoon. The boat sailed at midnight and it was now eleven.

"Minnie, you may remain clothed a bit longer, but I want you to see to it that this redhead obeys me and starts stripping off those clothes she put on at Daddy's special place. I'm sure I don't have to remind you of the instructions I gave you on the way over there," he said, grabbing for a riding crop on the small washstand.

Kitty saw how things stood and complied. She lay down on the bed and submitted to Denis inserting the key and, with Minnie's aid, removing the device. She knew if she didn't, she'd be even more in need of relieving herself than she was now. She stood, like she was told and bent down to remove the chamber pot from the hook just above the floor at the foot of the bed. Then she stood, facing Denis, and waited while Minnie unselfconsciously squatted over the potty while lifting her shift over her head and removing it. When Minnie was done, Kitty took her turn on the potty under Denis' unwavering eye. Then she walked to the mirror and began the ritual of 100 brush strokes to her hair while Minnie put the pot just outside the door to be collected and emptied and then returned.

"You'll remain in here until just before we dock in Galveston," Denis explained as he escorted her back to the bed and nodded for Minnie to come over with a glass of water, which he gave to Kitty to drink before cuffing her to the bed and forcing her to lie down. "I believe you can reach far enough to pull the covers up over you after Minnie and I finish putting the chastity belt back in place. We'll will be back in the morning so you can relieve yourself just before Minnie and I go to breakfast where she'll sit at my feet and eat the scraps from waxed paper. I've explained to the captain you won't be joining me at the table because you tend to lose your appetite on boats and for the same reason will remain in your cabin until just before we dock. Even if I granted you the privilege of Minnie helping you should a need arise before then, she won't be able to help because I've kept the key. Besides, she'll be servicing me in my cabin thanks to the stimulation both of you have provided until I chain her ankle to the foot of my bed before I go to sleep. While the captain has no problem with a naked slave accompanying me from my sister's cabin to my own, he wants to be sure that same slave, clothed or not, doesn't move about on his boat."

Kitty did manage to pull the covers over her and fell asleep with her stomach grumbling. She was hungry, but tired enough after all that happened during this long day that it didn't keep her awake. When the door was unlocked in the morning she hoped Denis had changed his mind, but alas, once she'd relieved herself, she was again chained to the bed with the chastity belt firmly in place. A half-hour later Minnie returned with Denis, who arranged it so the two could sit naked side-by-side on Kitty's bed, one chained by the wrist and the other, later, by the ankle after Minnie serviced him in Kitty's presence. Denis locked the door on his way out, leaving the girl and young woman alone to talk.

"Massa Denis tol' me we kin talk all we wants 'til he comes to fetch us. It be strange, but he say I ain't ta treat ya like no white girl 'cause unlike me, who were born to my place, ya still needs to learn yorn. Seems ya used ta have folk like me waitin' on ya and went to a fancy school afore Massa Denis' got ya. Now he gwan loan ya to de white man in that place we's goin' to. We both be workin' for the new massa while Massa Denis go off ta war. He might sell me to de new massa, but he can't do that with you 'cause you on loan ta him by his best friend. 'Til now I didn't know white girls ever had a massa like me, just a daddy and the man he marry her off to. "Cause o all dat, I ain't ta call ya Miss an' yer name even if I knows it. Massa Denis say he rip into my hide ifn I calls ya anythin' but girl or red in front o him or where he kin learn o it."

"Minnie, if Denis L'Hommedeu thinks he owns me until Cole claims me, he's got another think coming! I hope Cole's still willing to marry me after what Denis and his daddy have forced me to do. I also hope my own daddy was fooled into thinking I'm being protected from the kind of men I've had to service under their supervision when I was forced to leave where I was. The L'Hommedeus and their associates won't break Kitty Russell no matter how they try. First chance I get I'll get free and go far away so they can't find me. Once I'm settled, I'll let Cole know where I am, that is, if I still know where he is. You can come with me if you want. After what's happened to me and meeting you and others like you who are treated as dumb beasts or objects to be discarded on a whim, I no longer believe you people should be slaves."

When Denis returned Kitty and Minnie were allowed to dress after he watched them relieve themselves. Although he didn't attach the chastity belt, he didn't allow her to wear panties under her skirt and petticoat either. With Kitty firmly on his arm and Minnie tagging along behind carrying their carpetbags, they walked to the stage depot as Denis explained the arrangements for the rest of the trip to Laredo.

"We'll be on the road for three days and nights, arriving just after midday on the fourth day. You'll ride in the coach with me and Minnie will ride chained on top as befits a girl traveling to a safe haven away from the war, but where a Yankee is unlikely to be found, with her brother and one slave. During rest stops I'll let Minnie down and accompany you both to where you can quickly squat to relieve yourselves away from prying eyes. If food is served, Minnie will get my scraps in a paper and a bowl of water and you'll get to drink no more than a cup of water. Overnight we'll share a single room even though that's not what daddy told you. During that time you'll both sleep naked on the floor chained to the bed where I'll sleep. You'll wear the chastity belt overnight and I'll enjoy Minnie in front of you right after I attach the device before I chain her too. Before breakfast you'll relieve yourselves again, I'll enjoy Minnie and you will dress in an appropriate manner to share a table with the others and continue the trip. The only variation will be in Austin where we'll have adjoining rooms so you don't forget what it's like to sleep on a real bed."

The journey proceeded exactly as Denis described. By the time they walked into the Alhambra in Laredo Kitty was feeling weak from nearly six days without food and even a bit thirsty thanks to the rationing of her water. After a short exchange with the bartender, he shoved the the woman and girl in front of him up the stairs as the barkeep announced their arrival with a shout and into an open door marked private office. As Denis closed the door behind him, a powerfully built man between 45 and 50 with a balding round head of hair that was once light brown but was now mostly, at least what was left of it, light gray, stepped from behind the desk that sat between the windows directly in front of them. The man nodded and Denis turned the key in the lock and placed it in the man's outstretched hand. Once the key was deposited in his trouser pocket, he and Denis shook hands.

"Welcome, Denis. Marc's letter told me to expect you and a young white girl to put to work. What a pleasant surprise that you also brought a Negress with you. She's more of an age and exotic enough to strike my fancy, but there are plenty here who will pay handsomely to sample the redhead's charms. From what I understand, she's relatively inexperienced as befits her tender years but within a month she should be well on her way to a broader understanding of what men want. Are you ready for them to display all their bodily charms? I suggest the mare strip first since all she has on is a simple shift and that she then assist the filly to complete the task of baring herself as directed. It goes without saying they will keep their eyes on their toes unless instructed otherwise. Would that be agreeable?"

"Mr. Mullins, or may I call you Tom, daddy said you were a most direct man when it comes to business. After you have inspected these two and we agree to terms concerning them, I would appreciate a tour of the premises and a comprehensive look at your inventory and financial practices. I trust it won't be long before I can leave this entire operation in your capable hands so I may serve the cause. Daddy's told me how you've worked together in the past many times since your school days at the University of Virginia. I shall return to Tulane after the war."

With the preliminaries out of the way, Denis nodded at Minnie who quickly pulled her shift over her head and off, tossing it to her left into the wastebasket at the corner of the massive desk. She then moved over to Kitty and bent over to remove the girl's shoes and stockings so that her rear end was up in the air toward the two men, who now stood side-by-side. Meanwhile, Kitty untied her bonnet, tossed it in the same receptacle, and began to unbutton her blouse as instructed. By the time she removed and tossed that garment aside, Minnie, who'd moved to Kitty's left side so her back directly faced Mullins, had unfastened the girl's skirt and let it drop to the floor. She then, as she was told, helped Kitty step out of it and turned to face the older man directly, spreading her feet apart and clasping her hands together behind her neck, but not before throwing Kitty's skirt into the same bin. The girl removed her petticoat and tossed it in with the rest of their clothing before assuming the same position as Minnie.

While Denis remained where he stood, Mullins began to move around the living statues so he could see every nuance of their form. He didn't leave everything to his eyes. He used his fingers as well, telling them to shift position every so often so as to facilitate a full inspection. Satisfied, he told them to remain where they were, but with their arms down and hands clasped behind their backs, and turned to Denis.

"I see your loaned filly is a natural redhead. That should increase her price with the customers. I'll accept the terms for her spelled out by your daddy and rent her out one or many times each day depending on the requests and the payment offered. Of course, she'll wear short, low-cut dresses with thin straps and high-heeled slip on shoes from now on, if she's wearing anything at all. She can expect to perform almost anything with the men and have them do almost anything to her as long as they're willing to pay the price. The only restriction I'll impose is that her beautiful face not be marred in any way and her tresses are left intact. I don't want anything done to her that will detract from her appearance or remove her from active duty for any more than an hour. I plan to get my money's worth while you allow her to remain with me. I may beat her myself if she gets the least bit out of line or invite a good customer or two to have a particularly harsh go at her, but I won't do her myself. I'll also ensure she's not stolen away and sold across the border. By the way, does she have a name other than Red to call her by when her services are required?"

"Her name's Kitty. I'm surprised you don't want her for yourself sometimes, but it sounds like your clothing rules will keep her from straying too far and I don't reckon she'll have too much money to spend after taking into account what she'll owe you for her upkeep. Between the two, she won't be able to wander very far out of this district I suspect. That takes care of the basics for Cole's girl, but what about my Minnie?"

"Is that the mare's name? I understand she was a gift from your daddy. I'd like to buy her outright if we can agree on a price. I don't plan to shop her to the customers, but to keep her for my exclusive use. She should be flattered since I only do that with two other girls here. Even if we don't reach an agreement on her price, I'd like a greater percentage of what the filly brings in to compensate for not makin' money on the mare. If you stick with the going rate, since I have all the upkeep while she's with me, I'd be getting 60% of her earnings, or, if you sell her, 100%."

"Minnie's provided me with more than satisfactory service, but she's reaching the limit of my tastes. I'll sell her for $1,500 and throw in a greater percentage for you for the girl. Let's see, daddy gets 40% of her and I get 25%, leaving you with 30%. Since her pay would ordinarily be 5%, something she's not seen due to her age, why don't we cut it down to 1%? That would give you 34% of the high prices she'll bring and you hold onto the cost of her upkeep she'll she none of it anyhow. That seems fair to me. After all, you can always change your mind about shopping Minnie."

That evening Kitty finally got to eat just when she hardly had the strength left to sit in a chair in the kitchen and eat with the other working girls at the saloon. Mullins had nixed having her wear the chastity belt dubbing it more of a nuisance now that she was no longer on the road and available to men for a price again. However, aside from wearing what her new boss provided, he took her physical state after her long trip into account and didn't require any work from her that first night. To her surprise, she didn't feel as self-conscious as she might have in the revealing dresses that were now her only available clothing because all the others eating with her in the kitchen wore them as well. That first night before she trudged up the back stairs and retired to her room for the night and locked the door with the key Mullins gave her Kitty watched the routine in the saloon from a hidden vantage point just inside the kitchen. She observed that Minnie, a young Mexican and an Apache woman of about the same age as Minnie were the only ones who were more modestly dressed, but they were Mullins private women. They ate separately and were never required to do more than deliver drinks to the tables. If a customer tried to paw them, he was thrown out on his ear. The rest spent their time hustling the men to buy drinks, dealing cards or running the roulette wheel and allowing the drinking companions and gamblers liberties up to and including a full range of bedroom activities depending on how much money was paid to Mullins. She noticed if the barkeeps received money for the working girls they turned it and a note listing just what was paid for over to Mullins. Only Mullins gave any money to the saloon gals and it was far from after every transaction.


	5. Chapter 5 Unexpected Help

**Chapter 5 – Unexpected Help and a Temporary Escape**

Kitty, more than anything in the world, wanted to get away from the Alhambra. Tom Mullins wasn't as bad as Rollins had been and Denis had left after a couple of weeks to take up his commission in the Confederate Army, but that didn't mean her life was easy. At age 14 she was a whore in a Laredo, Texas saloon. That wasn't what she was meant to be. She could put up with it if she saw some money from it and could pick and choose the men and what they could do to her body, but Mullins controlled the who and what and she'd seen less than a dollar in hard cash of her so-called earnings. Mullins said that was all she was entitled to of her one percent of the money she earned for him after he subtracted her upkeep, as he called it. That tiny percentage only applied to what she earned on her back. She got nothing from dealing cards or running the roulette wheel or even for hustling drinks even though the L'Hommedeus, father and son, and Mullins earned a pretty penny from her efforts in all of it, not just from the bedroom portion.

It was now summer and Kitty was no closer to the goal she'd confided to Minnie of having enough money to buy a couple of respectable changes of clothing and fare to get far enough away quickly enough that she'd be hard to track down. She couldn't go back to New Orleans even if the war weren't going on, so she'd thought she'd try for San Francisco and the place Julie Blane shared with her husband. She knew Julie would take her in and pay her fairly for her expertise at cards. She'd also hoped to see Cole again there, but he was no longer in California. She wasn't sure where he was. It had been a month since his last letter. In it he'd told her he was glad she was safe, but not to try to contact him since he didn't know exactly where he'd be. If things went well with the war and he knew where she was, he'd make good on his promise and marry her after she turned 16. Right now he had his duty to perform as an officer and a southern gentleman.

It was a hot June night when Mullins told Kitty to deal poker at the table next to the stairs and close to the bar. This was considered the best table in the house and she'd already established herself as the best dealer. She liked dealing except it was rare it didn't also mean a player or two had special privileges allowing them to fondle her, heck why not use the right word, molest her with their fingers on top of what they did with their mouths. Tonight, two of the Decker brothers could reach inside the top of her dress and fondle her breasts and also reach up under the extra short one she was told to wear tonight to her privates. As usual, she had no panties to make it harder for them to poke their fingers inside her. The Deckers, Will and Walt, were the twin sons of the biggest rancher for 50 miles around Laredo. They were used to getting their way even if it broke house rules. They'd paid for pawing rights while she was dealing and, along with their younger brother Jeff, a long, unpleasant and complex private session later, after her dealing shift ended. Jeff was seated on Will's left. House rules said a girl, mare or filly depending upon her age according to Mullins, remained in her dress until she was scheduled to stop dealing and retired to her room (stall per Mullins). House rules stated no man could do more than fondle and poke under and through that dress while a girl was outside her room.

Will, Walt and Jeff were losing badly despite or maybe because of their efforts to keep Kitty distracted while they cheated. She countered their every cheap card trick with slight of hand of her own, keeping the drunken cowboys as honest as possible in the game partially for the sake of the other players, who were mostly losing too. Kitty was aiming to win as much for the house as possible, which she did every time, in hopes of convincing Mullins to give her one percent of the take for that too. She must not have realized how drunk they were because, before she could get Mullins or any of his male employees' attention, they'd silently communicated to each other that it was time to pull her to her feet and lift her dress over her head and then stand her up on the table for all the customers to see. The sight of Kitty's young, beautiful body along with an invitational wave from the brothers for everyone looking in their direction proved too much for most of them to resist.

"Wait your turn, boys," Will told the gathering crowd as he, Walt and Jeff lay Kitty face up and spread-eagled on the poker table so she was at her most vulnerable. "We paid Mullins for her and you can pay us shares until we decide to take her upstairs," he continued as he shifted his hold on her while Walt let go and moved aside so he could unbutton his pants.

The crowd pressed in closer, each jockeying for position to both watch and take their turn as Walt dropped his pants and moved to thrust his aroused manhood into her. Mullins was upstairs in his office and the bartender and remaining saloon gals were too busy to notice what was happening, but a six-foot tall young man with shaggy, sandy colored hair and dressed like a cowhand entering the saloon to try to gain a little extra while having some fun gambling did. Ted Thompkins wasted no time rushing to the girl's frightened aid. He could see she was young and in more trouble than she could possibly handle. Pulling his gun from the holster on his hip, he parted the crowd. Then he knocked Walt out with a wicked left hook. Keeping his pistol leveled at the other two Deckers, he threw Kitty's dress over her. She took advantage of the distraction Ted created to sit up, put it back on and quietly slip away from the table.

Kitty hid in the doorway to the kitchen as Mullins came thundering down the stairs demanding to know just what was going on. Walt Decker was being hauled to his feet by Thompkins, who answered the owner before the brothers could open their mouths.

"These three stripped the young red haired girl dealing cards of her dress and invited these others for a fee to help take advantage of her nakedness. I know she works here and entertaining men is her job, but I've been coming here to play poker and have a few beers long enough to know your rules don't allow private enjoyment to be carried out on the main floor, especially not without paying you first."

"You're quite right about that. Are any of the rest of you brave enough to back up what this young man said?"

Only a couple nodded their heads in agreement with what Thompkins had said, but it was enough for Mullins. He'd noticed how the brothers were getting bolder and bolder with cheating and doing as they pleased with his stable no matter what they'd actually paid for.

"I've had just about enough of you three. Get out of here and don't come back until after I've had a talk with your pa. You won't be comin' back at all if he can't guarantee your behavior."

They left muttering to themselves about how they planned to get even with Thompkins as soon as they got the chance. As to Mullins, they'd let their father handle him.

When they were gone, Kitty came out from her corner and looked at her boss, the man who for all intents and purposes owned her. He grabbed hold of her and took her over to the bar where Thompkins was ordering a beer.

"Thanks for your help keeping those three in line. Nobody comes in here and gets away with ignoring my rules and trying to make their own money from my mares and fillies. My stable is mine and I only rent them out, the price depending on what services they request and for how long. Those Deckers have already paid for this particular filly's special services for three hours so you've got her for that long and, because you kept me from losing money, for the remaining hour of her shift dealing. You can sit at her table with full pawing rights while she deals and then you can take her to her stall at no charge. She knows what they paid for. Go with him, Red."

Kitty followed Thompson to the same table where she'd been dealing before the Deckers stripped her and sat down next to him. She began to deal a hand of stud and was surprised when his hands didn't stray from his cards. In gratitude, she made sure he won enough to make about $100. She could almost forget her surroundings and believe she was back at Blane's. When Polly came to the table for her shift, Kitty willingly went upstairs with the square jawed young man, who was about the same age as her Cole, as soon as he cashed in his chips.

Upstairs in her room Kitty removed her shoes and began to remove her dress, but Thompkins stopped her before she could do more than start to lift it. She wore no stockings because of the heat so she would have been completely naked if he hadn't. She looked at him questioningly, knowing all that the Deckers had paid for. After all, it wasn't the first time she'd been with the brothers.

"I'm Ted Tompkins. Call me Ted. My sister, who's the only family I have left, is no more than a year older than you I would think and I sure wouldn't want her to have to do what you do to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly. That's why I had to stop them. I've been coming here once or twice a month when I have the spare cash to turn it into a little more so I can build up my stock and buy a bit more land for my ranch. I think now I'll be coming every night to make sure you're ok. By the way, what's your name and how old are you?"

"My name's Kitty, Kitty Russell and I'm 14. I'm really grateful to you for what you did tonight, including not expecting anything from me but talk. Since Mullins gave you what the Deckers paid for, you're entitled to a great deal more."

"I thought I made myself clear, Kitty. I want to give you some respite from all that. Especially now that I know my 17-year-old sister Eileen is three years older than you, I want even more to be a friend, someone you can talk to about your hopes and dreams."

During the next few hours Kitty, not realizing how lonely she'd been, found herself pouring out her life story to Ted. First she told him about her family, how her father was disowned when he deserted her mother after she was born, earning his living completely from charm and gambling. She told of life with her mother and her mother's family, especially her cousin Michelle Du Pree, and about her best friend Lucy Kritt. She related how her father had reasserted himself into her life after her mother passed and sent her to live first with Panacea Sykes and then with Julie Blane and her husband, who while they ran businesses that were partially bawdy houses, protected her from the seedier sides of their enterprises. She allowed to continue with school and still could freely socialize with those of her social class back home in New Orleans. She then told of meeting and giving herself to Cole Yankton and the abrupt change in her circumstances when the Blanes moved to San Francisco. Still, she explained it wasn't as bad as now because until the L'Hommedeus sent her to Mullins she at least saw her friend and cousin at school and had the hope her mother's people would be able to challenge her father for the right to raise her, maybe even with the assistance of her father's people because they had approved of his marriage to her mother.

"Kitty, that's simply awful. You poor abused child. Do you have any plans for changing your circumstances?"

"I want to get away from here and make my way to Julie, but I don't have the clothes or money to allow me to do that. At this point with the war on and not knowing exactly how my father fits into things, I can't go to my mother's people. Even if they took me in, the L'Hommedeus would know I'd returned and find a way to get me back. I don't know how I'll be able to go anywhere. I'll have passed my 16th birthday, which is when Cole said he'd marry me, and be a different person than the one he left behind by the time I have enough money to take a stage even as far as Santa Fe or Austin. I've stopped hearing from Cole because of the war and that's probably for the best if I want to get away completely from the L'Hommedeus and those working for and with them. I'm not even sure Cole will still want me. Maybe when the war is over I'll meet another man who will know me for what I've become and not care. Meantime, I want to be in charge of my own life."

"I know what I can do. I can pay you directly for your time over and above what I pay Mullins and come here every night to ensure your safety and quicker departure. Once I explain the circumstances my sister Millie and my Cordelia will understand. I'm sure the few extra dollars I give you won't prevent me from building up the ranch and marrying Cordy in the spring. Here's $20 to get our pact started. I reckon I can keep paying you $5 an hour until you have enough to get you to your friend in San Francisco. I trust you have a hiding place for the money. Millie's about your size and can save you some money by giving you a couple of complete outfits that she doesn't wear anymore."

Kitty thanked him and placed the money he gave her in the secret hiding place under the loose floorboard under the foot of her bed. She had just enough time before her next customer knocked on the door to be sure she was finished with the previous man to hide it. The blacksmith's son entered and watched appreciatively as she removed her dress and unbuttoned his pants as he caressed her body and pushed her onto the bed.

Ted Thompkins was true to his word. Each night he appeared to spend time with her, usually just paying for a couple of hours of pawing time while she dealt cards. He'd secretly pass her the money under the table so she could transfer it to the shallow pocket of her dress. When she got upstairs, she quickly transferred it to her hiding place and each night before going to sleep would count it to see how close to her goal she was. By mid-July she had $600, enough to pay for her fare all the way to San Francisco and food and lodging along the way and a bit left over if she were frugal. Her last night at the Alhambra Ted took her upstairs and brought her a carpetbag that contained three complete outfits, including underwear. She hid the bag beneath the bed and accompanied him downstairs after his paid time was up to begin a stint at the roulette wheel while he left to get a late supper in the café by the stage depot. After supper he returned and slipped the tickets to her, whispering in her ear which stage she was to catch in the morning.

By seven the next morning Kitty was dressed in one of her new outfits and headed down the backstairs with her carpetbag in hand and her tickets and money in her skirt pocket. Since it was so early nobody was around to see her leave by the backdoor and walk to the depot. As soon as the stage was ready to leave she climbed inside, keeping her carpetbag with her. Luck was with her. None of her customers were on the stage with her. Instead she shared it with a woman and her daughter who were going to Santa Fe to go live with the older woman's brother now that her husband had been seriously wounded while serving in the US Calvary along the Mexican border in New Mexico. They exchanged names and pleasantries, telling her they were Anne and Betsy Horton, while Kitty gave her name as Kate O'Riley. Kitty let on that she was going to stay with her aunt and uncle in San Francisco instead of staying on the family's failing small farm, south of town along the Texas border with Mexico.

Finally, after what seemed like months, but was only a week, Kitty arrived in San Francisco and inquired at the train station for directions to the Blane's establishment. At first the porter was reluctant to tell her because it was along the infamous Barbary Coast, but when she explained it was owned by her aunt and uncle he secured a cab for her, telling the driver to see her safely inside and in the arms of her relatives.

The driver, the porter's cousin, insisted on walking Kitty up to the door and coming inside with her. It was late enough for Blane's Gambling House and Saloon to be open, but early enough that the customers were few. Therefore, Kitty had no trouble spotting Julie coming down the stairs. They raced toward each other in instant recognition, so the driver turned and headed back to his cab before somebody stole it.

"Kitty, what on earth are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming during your school break?"

"It's a long story Julie. Can we go someplace private and talk?"

Julie led the way up to the suite of rooms that served as the Blanes private quarters. Once Kitty was comfortably seated on the settee, Julie took a seat next to her.

"All right, young lady, out with it! I have a feeling this long story of yours has something to do with Marc and Denis L'Hommedeu."

"It has everything to do with them. I'm not in school anymore. Fact is, I'm no longer in New Orleans. After my 14th birthday they took me from that awful Bayou Queen and its Captain Rollins and deposited me with Tom Mullins owner of the Alhambra Saloon in Laredo where they completed my transformation into a whore. As soon as I could, with the help of a nice man named Ted Thompkins, I snuck away and came to you. I don't want any of them to ever find out where I am, not even Cole."

Kitty filled Julie in on everything that had changed in her life, even her realization that marrying Cole wasn't the most important thing. Too much had changed, including her. She wanted to ensure that she controlled her own life and getting married would prevent that. Besides, there was a possibility she might never see Cole again even if he still wanted her. When the time was right, she was sure, a new man would enter her life who understood all she'd been through and care more about her than what she'd outwardly become.

By the time she finished, a loud wail came from one of the rooms. Little Lon Blane was awake, hungry and wet. She followed her older friend and she hoped protector into the nursery where they continued to talk while the towheaded infant was fed and changed. Then Julie showed her to her room further down the hall. It was twice as big as her room at the Alhambra and, being on the southwest rear corner of the building, had two windows, one of which offered a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.

Kitty was happy for the first time since she was forced to leave the Blanes. Julie picked up where she left off in New Orleans teaching Kitty how to order, keep track of inventory, balance the books, tend bar and, most of all, appreciate top of the line liquor. She was back on a salary and able to replenish her wardrobe with the latest fashions. In addition to continuing to teach Kitty more about running a successful, high-end saloon, Julie kept an eye on Kitty's safety. She tried to make sure the girl, who had become like a younger sister to her, was never completely alone either in the saloon or on the streets of San Francisco. Her husband, on the other hand, wasn't as conscientious.

Kitty had been in San Francisco two months when Carl Beaufort came into the saloon and spotted her heading into the office. Beaufort worked for Marc L'Hommedeu as his California operative, but he was also in San Francisco to try to gain recruits for the Confederate Army. He combed the territory from Washington territory down along the coast through California to Mexico and then eastward into Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and western Texas. He'd come across one, he thought, promising recruit, but the tall young deputy lawman hadn't taken him up on his offer. He wondered what had become of the young man. No use worrying he thought. Instead, he focused on getting the redheaded girl back to Mullins in Laredo. He felt sure he had the right one since she had lived with the Blanes in New Orleans before they came to San Francisco to run this place and Denis L'Hommedeu had come to claim the beautiful and very young Kitty Russell.

Two days later while Julie was upstairs tending to their infant son and Mr. Blane was in a back room obtaining more whiskey for the lunchtime crowd, Beaufort grabbed Kitty as she came out of the office with a ledger in her hands. In her surprise she dropped it on the bar but was unable to scream for help before he clapped his hand over her mouth. He soon had her out the door and a derringer discretely poking her in the right side. She was whisked into his waiting cab and taken to the station where they boarded a southbound train just before it began to move. In four days they were on a stage heading for Laredo. Kitty couldn't see him because her captor kept her from looking out the window, but Beaufort noticed the extremely tall cowboy turned lawman with thick curly dark brown hair and blue eyes riding with the US Calvary patrol that crossed their path. Matt Dillon was definitely not going to help the southern cause.

There were no further delays so that by evening Kitty was back in the control of Tom Mullins. As soon as Beaufort brought her to his office, he and Beaufort stripped her of her fashionable dress and all that went with it.

"Beaufort, it's time for the final portion of your reward. Take the filly up to her stall, the third one down the hall to the left when you come up the stairs, and do whatever you like short of marring her face or making her unable to fulfill her obligations to serve my customers an hour from now. I've arranged a choice selection for her tonight as punishment."


	6. Chapter 6 Returning the Favor

**Chapter 6 – Returning the Favor, Then Gone for Good**

Somehow Kitty managed to get through those first few days after Carl Beaufort brought her back to the Alhambra. During the following weeks her life returned to that of a girl who didn't want to lead the life she was forced into but was resigned to it until she could escape again. Although the customers varied from horrible to decent she didn't meet another Ted Thompkins and she wasn't spending as much time as she would like at her preferred task of dealing cards.

Then, one day, when September had nearly become October Ted came back. Kitty was just returning to the bar area to take a turn dealing at one of the tables when she found herself in the middle of a ruckus. The Dexter twins accused Ted of cheating on previous hands. Kitty thought she'd calmed them down after her first deal, but the twins drew their guns as they stood up at the table. Ted objected and fired as he too stood up, wounding both Will and Walt before they managed to shoot him. This brought Mullins, and the sheriff, who'd been talking with him, to the table along with Jeff Decker. Sheriff Tate, a good friend of the Deckers, was about to arrest Ted for attempted murder when Kitty spoke up.

"You can't arrest this man, Sheriff. He was only defending himself. Those two accused him of cheating and drew first. He wounded them before they could kill him. Also, he wasn't cheating, but they were. I've been dealing poker since I was ten at gambling houses in New Orleans and San Francisco and learned every trick in the book. I've no problem spotting cheats and will testify in court to everything I just told you."

"Mullins, is your girl reliable? Does she really have that kind of knowledge? Will you make sure she's in the courtroom to testify?"

"Yes to all your questions, Sheriff. Red's got no reason to exaggerate even though it's hard to believe a filly as young as her could know so much. She came to me from New Orleans and spent some time in San Francisco before she came back to me."

"We'll see what happens. I'll hold him for trial in two days. That's when the circuit judge will be here."

Mullins was convinced the Deckers had arranged for Kitty's departure so he wanted to get back at them. He convinced Kitty that Thompkins was safer in jail where the Deckers or their hands couldn't kill him and also arranged for her to lay low. He made sure she never left his private suite of rooms by putting her under the care of Minnie.

"Kitty, I'se so sorry I kint hep ya more. Ya don't belong in a place like dis. Massa Tom is so much better to me then Massa Denis or Massa Marc. I do believe he really cares for me. If'n only they didn't find ya. Mebe whilst we's together we can come up with somethin' better ta gets ya away from here.

"That's just it, Minnie. I'm watched much more closely and I'm sure I won't even be able to keep the dress for the trial. Besides, there's nobody to slip me money and it will be a long time before I see any of my so-called pay. Mullins claims I owe him for lost income while I was in San Francisco. My only hope is to sneak out in disguise and hitch a ride somewhere."

"Keep your eyes and ears open girl. Even with the war goods is moved and people is needed to move 'em. The Alhambra 'n them L'Hommedeu riverboats keeps gittin' they's stuff. Some o' it gits ta where it needs be travelin' where the war ain't or ain't so noticeable."

Kitty thought about what Minnie told her, but couldn't think of how she could make use of it. Meanwhile, she eagerly awaited getting out for the trial. Although she'd been in Laredo for close to a year, she'd seen next to nothing of the town and its surroundings. Court was being held in the biggest room of the hotel. On the day of the trial Minnie brought Kitty a dress any farm girl might wear on Sunday. It was proper and respectable without being prim when she added the matching bonnet and lace up shoes. Once she was dressed, Mullins escorted her to the hotel. Due to delays she wasn't called to give her testimony until after the dinner recess. Mullins paid for her meal in the hotel dining room just as if he were taking his daughter for a special treat. He even called her Kitty instead of his usual Red or girl. After being sworn in, Kitty gave her testimony under the hateful glare of all four Deckers.

"I was just beginning my shift dealing poker at the Alhambra where I live and work when the two wounded men sitting in the front row accused the man on trial of cheating. I'd only dealt one hand but noticed as I came to relieve Polly the wounded two I pointed out crimping cards and pulling others from their sleeves. That way they could be sure of what was in their hand and also of what was in everyone else's. They seemed particularly interested in making sure the man on trial's hand was full of the crimped cards. The bent corners were the basis of their claim he was cheating."

"Come now," the prosecutor claimed, "you haven't been entirely truthful as to how you're employed so how do you expect the judge to believe you know enough to make your outlandish claims?"

"I'll tell you the whole truth of my employment, but it makes no difference as far as what I've said happened. I'm a whore at the Alhambra who also deals cards. When I came there this past March, I'd been dealing cards and learning how to spot cheats from the age of ten back home in New Orleans. After my mama passed I went to live with my daddy's friend who owned a gambling house and she taught me. Then, at 12 I moved on to a saloon owned by a couple that also encouraged gambling in their establishment. I perfected my skills there and was well enough liked by them that they hired me at their San Francisco saloon where I would have stayed had I not been brought back to Laredo. It was because of the L'Hommedeus, who I was told to work for on one of their riverboats when I was barely 13 that I started whoring as part of what was expected of me. They sent me here to work for Mr. Mullins, who is a partner of the L'Hommedeus, because of the war being too dangerous for an employee of my caliber, or so they claimed. I'm 14 now, so I've had more than four years to become an expert at spotting cheats. The man on trial was only defending himself when he fired his pistol after being falsely accused of cheating and threated by their guns. He only shot before they could shoot him and merely wounded them."

The judge believed her and ruled in favor of Ted Thompkins. Ted, didn't press charges against Will and Walt Decker, although he could have, feeling it was better not to antagonize them further. Even so, the Deckers lost a good deal of their influence in and around Laredo. With the trial over, Mullins escorted Kitty back to the Alhambra and his ground floor office, the same one she'd been brought to several months earlier by Beaufort.

"You did well girl. Those Deckers got their comeuppance and you managed to tell it without revealin' you ain't just another one of my stable but someone under special contract. Keep up the good work and shuck them duds and then head up the back stairs to your stall. Don't bother puttin' on one of your whore dresses, I'm sendin' a customer right up to you and he expects you to be ready for him."

Kitty's 15th birthday passed. During that time she'd seen no more of Ted Thompkins and had no clearer idea of how to get away from the Alhambra except that she had to leave in disguise and not go to anyone who knew her so she'd be that much harder to trace. Her plan began to take shape after one of the customers she brought up to her room turned out to be talkative. He mentioned he and a bunch of other cowboys were driving a multi-owner herd to Abilene, Kansas to sell. Some would bring their wages back to Laredo along with a load of goods needed in the west Texas town while others planned to join up with Quantrell. The drive, which was leaving in a week, still needed several drovers and a cook's assistant, who would ride with the cook on the chuck wagon. Kitty decided she had her way out with a little luck and help.

Minnie was glad to help her get the boy's clothing she'd need. The next morning Kitty went in search of the cook in her boy's disguise. Minnie tied her breasts so they looked flat before Kitty donned the pants and shirt. She pinned up her hair and hid it under her floppy cowboy hat, then snuck out the backdoor to behind the stable where the foreman was recruiting the men and boys he'd need for the three-month trip. She poured on the charm, claiming she was an orphan boy in desperate need of a job and was familiar enough with a kitchen to be a valuable asset to the cook.

Without any paint, and with her breasts flattened, her hair hidden and dressed in boy's clothing Kitty was accepted as a boy who wasn't quite old enough to shave but old enough to do a day's work. The cook, Bud Peevy was quite pleased with the foreman, Curt Dryden's choice. Kit Reynolds was a good worker and eager to learn more. He seemed to have a flare for cooking and might some day cook up something that was too good for the likes of these footloose cowhands. The only strange thing about Kit was he was shy about bathing and such where the others might see. The kindly bewhiskered cook became very protective of his assistant and wouldn't stand for him to be the brunt of too much teasing. It was by accident two weeks into the drive that he learned the truth about his assistant who seemed to be beautiful rather than just handsome.

"Oh, Kit, er…." Bud stammered. "I didn't mean to bust in on you in such a private moment. Still, no use pretending I didn't see. You take on that name 'cause you admired Kit Carson?"

"Mr. Peevy, please don't tell anyone. If you let on I'm a girl Mr. Dryden will kick me off the drive. Then what would I do? I have to get as far away from Laredo as I can and this is the only way I know of that I'll not get caught by the people who want to keep me back at the Alhambra and still keep my belly full and have money when we get to Abilene so I can put a roof over my head until I find a job there."

"Your secret's safe with me. A girl your age should never be workin' in a place like that saloon, forced or not. Besides, you're the best assistant I've ever had. I wouldn't want to part with a lad I've come to regard as a son, but I reckon I'll have to say daughter now. I know you can trust Mr. Dryden too. As to your real name, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I don't mind. My name's Kathleen Russell, Kitty to my friends. Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad I don't have to hide who I am with everyone anymore."

In June the drive reached Abilene, Kansas. Despite the kindness of Peevy, Kitty decided to make a clean break with all things having to do with Texas. She explained to him that she needed time to live her own life and not put someone she liked in danger, since once they got back to Texas he'd want to protect her from the L'Hommedeus and all their employees. Instead, she collected her $20 pay and went in search of a place where she could change back into a girl and then find a suitably cheap but respectable rooming house. An open window provided entry into a dressmaking shop where she could change into the one feminine outfit Minnie had managed to secure for her. The owner had closed the shop for lunch so Kitty had enough time to change and comb out her hair before heading for Mrs. Humphrey's Boarding House for Young Ladies. She arrived just in time for dinner and followed this up with a much-needed bath.

Kitty knew her $20 wouldn't last long. Rent for her room was $5 a week and it came with only one meal a day. She knew she had to get a job, one that paid enough for her to eat and get a new wardrobe. She wasn't a seamstress and restaurants tended to hire men, even if she could wait on tables and cook well enough. That left hiring on as a maid, but then she would lose her independence, or taking in washing. The last paid very little and couldn't easily be done in her room. She'd have to go to work in a saloon, but this time she would be as much her own boss as possible. The next morning she put on a slightly more revealing, but still respectable dress she'd purchased for $5 at a church rummage sale, and strolled into the Silver Slipper to ask Jim Witherspoon for a job where she'd be paid a decent salary if she were successful at negotiating terms. She also decided to take back her name even if she was taking a big chance by using it.

"Miss Russell, since you won't let me contact the saloon where you worked in Laredo, I don't believe a girl your age has any experience at all. This is a high-class saloon. I pay my girls a base salary and a 20% share of anything they bring in over the minimum to cover that guaranteed wage less the room rental of 5¢ per hour when you use the rooms upstairs to provide private and special services for our customers. I try to have one per girl, especially for the younger ones. By the way, how old are you? You can't be more than 16."

"Actually I turned 15 a few months back, but that doesn't make me too young if I can do the job. Just let me prove my worth tonight, Mr. Witherspoon. Between dealing poker, hustling drinks and taking a man or two upstairs I guarantee I'll bring in more money tonight than any other girl working here. We can negotiate my salary and percentages tomorrow after you've had a chance to make the necessary monetary comparisons."

"I like your spunk so I'll let you prove to me you've got what it takes tonight. If you can't cut it, I'll give you $5, if you can, this will be your first day of work and you'll be on salary. I expect all the girls to work five ten-hour days, and another half-day each week. That includes bringing at least one man upstairs at the usual quarter-hour rate of $20, although I'll charge less if they're willing to settle for someone closer to 30 than 18. Of course, if you go to his room, the room charge won't be deducted from your percentage."

Needless to say, Kitty proved her worth, so at 11 the next morning she sought out Mr. Witherspoon. He welcomed her into his office and told her she was hired once they worked out the details of her salary and bonuses as well as what was expected from her each night.

"I must say you surprised me. I'm prepared to offer a base of $10 a week plus the room charge and percentages I explained based on the minimums I told you about. Based on what you did last night, I expect you to get the customers to purchase at least 30 drinks a night and take at least three men upstairs and one more to his hotel. I'm willing to concede your poker skills are no fluke either so instead of the usual sitting at a table or standing at the bar and flirting, you can spend most of your time dealing as long as while you're winning money for the house you're also getting the players to buy whiskey by the bottle at ten drinks per bottle that would mean three bottles. Your percentage will cut in for the poker winnings over the house average and any drink or man over the stipulated minimum. Do we have a deal?"

"Not quite. I'd like a base of $20 a week, a minimum of 10 drinks a night. That is, one bottle, but I'll make sure it's your best house whiskey. I'll go along with the four men, but only two of them will be upstairs provided all four are 15 minutes each. If the time allotted is a half-hour, then I'll only need two men, one here and one at his hotel at the quarterly rate times two, or $40 each, and I get to choose which men."

"You drive a hard bargain. Here's what I'm willing to settle for and it's my final offer. $15 per week base, two bottles or 20 drinks, but both of them the best house whiskey and I agree to your terms about the men except I get to choose at least one of the bigger spenders particularly if he asks for you specifically. If any other men request you, I expect you'll accept two out of every three."

"You also drive a hard bargain Mr. Witherspoon, Jim. I agree to all your terms with one stipulation. If a man I know from my past enters this saloon I'll expect you to keep me off the bar floor until he leaves. I'll let you know who they are as soon as I spot them, but if I don't keep out of site they'll take me away with them against my will and you'll lose me as an employee. For the same reason, I'd appreciate you not giving out my name to strangers. I'll let the other girls and regulars know to do the same. To strangers I'm Red Reynolds."

"I find your final stipulation acceptable because I sure don't want to lose you now that I've found you. You're hired Miss Russell. Your first night was last night and you'll be paid once a week. Welcome aboard Kitty and you can certainly call me Jim."

Despite the most pay she'd ever had in her young life, Kitty's savings grew slowly. First, she had a whole new wardrobe to buy. Actually, it was two new wardrobes; one for wearing to work and one for wearing at her rooming house and other places around town during her free time. Then there was the cost of her meals. Most of what she might have saved went to help those who needed the money more than she did. Kitty's kind heart, especially after all she'd been through, wouldn't allow her to see someone backed into a corner. She made sure they had at least enough so they didn't have to essentially sell themselves or break the law in order to put food in their bellies, something more than rags on their back and a roof that didn't leak over their heads. If that weren't enough there was the war. It was just too dangerous for a young woman alone to travel westward through Kansas toward San Francisco or any other place and it was even worse to try and travel to the east.

A year after Kitty began working at the Silver Slipper a woman named Sara came to work there. She was a few years older than Kitty and had been forced to seek work after her father died in the war and her mother worked herself to death trying to save their farm. Sara, who became a friend, was at the saloon for about a year when a homesteader came through town and caught her eye. Kitty didn't think too much of Sam Baxton. He was older than Sara by a good ten years and to her way of thinking was mean spirited. She'd spurned the man when he first entered, but he didn't seem to mind. The meek Sara, although not quite as pretty or young, was attractive and young enough to suit Baxton. He wanted a wife he could control and Sara was grateful for the chance to be a respectable woman again. She married him before they left Abilene together for Dodge City and his farm.

It was 1864 and the war dragged on, but it just might have been the war that kept Kitty safe from the very people she never wanted to see again. She'd seen Cole Yankton come in a few times, but always managed to avoid his seeing her. She wanted to see him, but wasn't sure he wouldn't let Denis or Marc L'Hommedeu know here whereabouts directly or indirectly. Besides, although in a way, since he was her first, she still loved Cole, now that she was 17 she didn't want him to hold to his promise and marry her. Despite working as a saloon gal, she had a certain amount of independence and that suited her just fine, except for having to be with a certain number of men and not always of her choosing.

Cole had stopped by a few times in late '63 and several more times in the first half of '64. Denis hadn't been with him, but Jim and a few of the girls told her that he was doing what Beaufort had been doing further west trying to recruit soldiers for the Confederate army. He'd been assigned that as a special duty by Marc L'Hommedeu, who had somehow engineered to be regional commander. The girls told her that he was also hoping to find a girl he used to know who'd disappeared from the Laredo saloon where she'd been working a couple years before just for old times sake. He still cared about her, but wasn't sure he wanted marriage with her or any girl after the war. It was only partially that she was no longer innocent. More than anything he wanted to get back to California and make some real money within or without the law.

By the time Lee surrendered in 1865 Kitty was ready to move on, but she waited a bit more. She read the out of town papers to see where she might go as well as to possibly find out where Cole might be. Her hope was to catch on in a growing town and after a couple of years working and saving her money she'd finally get back to San Francisco and Julie Blane. She wanted to give it at least another five years to be sure the L'Hommedeus had quit looking for her. It was still dangerous to cross the prairie by stage but perhaps by her next birthday she could safely travel further west.

It was the fall of 1866 when she gave her notice to Jim Witherspoon and Mrs. Humphrey. She did it despite having quite a lot less than $100 to her name before buying her ticket. She packed two carpetbags with the outfits she decided to take with her consisting of three working girl outfits and four more respectable traveling outfits, giving the rest to Claire Hollis, a girl with similar ambitions to her own. She bought a ticket for Dodge City because of Sara and because she'd heard that Bill Pence, the owner of the Long Branch there, didn't require the girls he hired to do more than get the men to buy drinks. How they did it was up to them. The one thing she knew was she would work under her own name and would continue to keep track of Cole in California. She wanted to be at her next destination before the harsh Kansas winter set in.


	7. Chapter 7 Arrival in Dodge

**Chapter 7 – Arrival in Dodge**

The stage ride from Abilene to Dodge City was long, dusty and tiring. That is, it was dusty until the rain started to fall and the shades did nothing to keep it out. Since it was November, it could just as easily have been snow. It was sure cold enough when the coach finally reached Dodge City. The town was nothing but a sea of muddy streets and ugly buildings, most of them wood. Also, you could practically see from one end of the main street to the other. Dodge may have been a rapidly growing town, but it was incredibly small and rough for all that.

Kitty Russell waded across the street to a café she spotted and found a seat at one of the tables. She opened her reticule and counted out what remained of her money, a mere $40. Whatever remained after paying for breakfast wouldn't take her much farther. Still, almost anywhere would be an improvement. She ordered an egg, toast and coffee and was just starting to eat it when the biggest man she'd ever seen in her life sat down at a table across the room from her where he proceeded to eat the biggest breakfast she'd ever seen. She doubted he saw her because he was so absorbed with eating his eggs, ham and biscuits, but she was intrigued and decided to remain.

Kitty retrieved her carpetbag from the stage driver and set out to find a place to stay despite feeling foolish. She'd come to Dodge to find a place to work that would allow her even more independence then she'd found in Abilene, but she'd decided to give the ugly little town a try because of a man she hadn't even met. Some show of independence from men her decision was! Still, she'd made it, so first, she looked for a suitable boardinghouse and settled on Ma Smalley's just down the street from the Long Branch. Mrs. Smalley proved to be a friendly widow, who happened to have a room available on her second floor.

Kitty changed out of her travel-worn dress into one that, while still respectable, exhibited a bit more of her charms. She was ready to speak to Bill Pence, the owner of the Long Branch. As she walked down the street toward the saloon, she carried Jim Witherspoon's letter of reference with her. When she entered, Pence was behind the bar.

"Mr. Pence, I'm Kitty Russell. I wrote to you about a job here and that I'd bring my references with me. Here they are," she said handing over the piece of paper.

"This is glowing praise. May I ask why you decided to leave?"

"I wanted to see if I could further myself in the saloon business and Dodge City is growing fast. If I heard correctly, it's up to the girl working for you to entertain men in your upstairs rooms. That's why I'm applying to you instead of the other saloons in town. I want to pick when and if I go further than friendly flirting in order to get him to buy drinks. Fact is, I want to be able to send a man packing if he tries for more than I want to give him."

"Miss Russell, I respect the girls who work here. If a man gets out of hand, I'll back the girl with this mallet," he replied, taking the very thing from behind the bar and waving it at her. "Also, if a girl decides to service a man in his room instead of upstairs, I don't take a percentage. I consider all the money hers. My fee, if you use the upstairs room allotted to you, is 15% of whatever you charge the customer. I expect you to be honest with me about what he paid. If I hear you shortchanged me, I'll throw you out on your ear no matter how much money you bring in. Other than that, I pay $20 a week plus 10% of the drinks you get them to buy and 20% of the winnings you bring to the tables. It says here you're a whiz at that."

"Yeah, I am. I started learning how at a very young age. Your pay sounds fair if you allow sufficient time off for a girl to have a life of her own. How many hours a week do you expect me to work?"

"Usually no more than 40 hours. I try to set up a regular schedule, but it kinda gets out of whack during the height of cattle season. The railroad and Texas cattle are why Dodge is growing so fast. By the way, i also encourage new ideas that will help the place prosper. There's one more thing, I'll pay an extra $5 a week if you can keep my books straight. I see you're quite good at that too."

"Mr. Pence, you've got yourself a deal. I've had almost as much experience keeping a saloon's books as I've had dealing cards and that's a fact. When can I start?"

"If that's a fact, you're hired. You can start tonight at 7."

The redhead he saw that morning in Delmonico's intrigued Marshal Matt Dillon. He sensed there was something very special about her. It wasn't just her beauty, even if, despite her rain sodden clothes, she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. He suspected there was more to her than that. Doc Adams, who'd joined him just as she left, felt it too. Matt's thoughts drifted back to when he'd first arrived nine months earlier on March 10, 1866 to start his tenure as the youngest US Marshal ever appointed.

He rode up from El Paso by way of a way station on the Kansas Colorado border before turning east to Dodge City to help track down the gang responsible for a series of stagecoach robberies. It was the final test before his official appointment as US Marshal for Kansas, although his biggest challenge taming and, even more personal problem, had been staying alive in the Gomorrah of the Plains after the appointment was made and approved by the town's and state's leading citizens.

Matt had passed the easier test, but almost gave the harder challenge a pass because of Leona, the daughter of the man who ran the way station. They saw each other quite often, especially after she moved to Dodge to be closer to him and, as he learned, the excitement. After a month he told her if she were willing to be a rancher's wife, he'd buy some cattle to put on a piece of land that was available to rent. She refused unless he was willing to remain a lawman. Since he firmly believed in everything Adam Kimbro had taught when he gave him his first job as a deputy, including the understanding that a family and the badge didn't mix, Matt couldn't do that. If she couldn't accept that he couldn't establish any relationship with a woman as long as he wore the badge because marriage meant raising kids and that sort of responsibility meant he couldn't fully uphold his sworn duty, then he couldn't be with her. She refused to see it that way so he they split. He was hurt and confused. Therefore, he decided the only thing to do was completely dedicate himself to his duties as a US Marshal and forget about any sort of relationship. Lee had no conflict. Two months later, she married a skinny little gambler who promised her the exciting life she craved.

Being devoted to the job became even easier when the City Marshal, Josh Stryker, killed the man responsible for burning down the home of his closest friends, a fire in which the whole family died. Although cleaning up Dodge City was Matt's first assignment as the US Marshal in Kansas, to Stryker, a man who curtailed some of the freewheeling violence, the young lawman was no more than a deputy the town hired to help him. His pride wouldn't let him believe otherwise and Matt never reminded him that as a federal employee he was, in reality, his superior. The charade ended when his court testimony sent Stryker to prison. After that Matt took on both jobs and the town became his headquarters. It suited him well. Even if Dodge were to be tamed enough in the next few months for local law to take over, he couldn't see himself living in a city like the state capital Topeka or even Wichita. Eastern Kansas, being too close to his Missouri roots, was out of the question. To him, Dodge City, the first place he stayed for any length of time after he was orphaned, was where he began to be a man instead of a boy with the help of Doc Adams. Doc was still here and still treated the now older, but still young man as an adult.

Matt was new to dealing with the bureaucracy that came with the job and wasn't quite sure what was within the scope of his authority. He knew he could hire deputies, but wasn't sure he could hire them to help him in Dodge except during a crisis when he could pay them $2 a day plus expenses. Still, he knew he needed an assistant that he could trust. Stryker had relied on several different people as volunteers. One of those was a man, slightly younger then Matt who didn't wear a gun and had a bum right leg. Something about him showed potential and when asked, Doc corroborated it. Since Doc had saved his life the first time he'd been in Dodge as a green 14-year-old orphan after a beating at the hands of a buffalo hunter when he came to the defense of a couple of friends he'd made upon arrival in town, Matt felt the older man wouldn't steer him falsely. The problem was the town's leaders were reluctant to pay Chester Goode wages even as lowly jailer. He therefore decided to pay him what he could from his wages and let him sleep on a cot in the office so he wouldn't have the expense of renting a room.

Chester, despite his infirmity and gullible nature, had proved to be the perfect assistant. He'd also become, along with Doc, his closest friends, except he didn't seek out advice from Chester. A man didn't come to his kid brother, who worshiped him and would do anything for him, for that sort of thing. Doc, on the other hand, was not stingy about giving fatherly advice, but like any grown son, Matt didn't always take it. The young lawman spent the entire day thinking about his life in Dodge City, his responsibilities and, despite all efforts not to, the redhead he'd seen at breakfast. He got up from his desk and shook off his lethargy as he realized it was time to do his early rounds before grabbing supper. Most of the shops on Front Street had closed for the night as he and Chester finished checking them.

The two men glanced into each of the saloons and then met Doc for a supper of stew in the most respectable of them, the Long Branch. All three of them noticed the new girl hustling drinks. Bill Pence must have hired her. He found himself thinking about her again. She hadn't left town. What had just been idle musings had become a desire to get to know this intriguing girl, who, to his mind, was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She was young, really still a girl, but she carried herself like a woman and not just any woman, but one who expected to be treated with respect, like one of the daughters or wives of Dodge City's leading citizens. At the same time, she had no shame about working in a saloon entertaining men. Matt couldn't have expressed all this, but it was definitely his impression of her. Here was a true lady, whatever that was.

That night, Matt made sure the Long Branch was his last stop on his late rounds. When he entered Kitty was pulling the house winnings towards her as the other poker players cashed in what remained of their chips. Here was something new; she was an accomplished poker player too. The bar was practically empty. It looked like it was just the girls, Bill Pence and the late night bartender. He walked over to her table and introduced himself.

"Hello, I like to talk to all the newcomers to Dodge. I consider it part of my job as marshal. The name's Matt Dillon. How do you like my town so far?"

"Your town is it? Well, I didn't think too much of it when I arrived in all that rain and mud this morning, but I'm liking it much better now. I hope to remain on the good side of the law around here even if the law looks like a cowboy to me, a very large cowboy. By the way, my name's Kitty Russell."

Once the introductions were over with they sat together at one of the tables and found themselves talking as if they'd known each other for years. At first they talked in generalities. Matt told her about the town not always being as quiet as it was today and warned her about when the Texas cowboys arrived in a couple of months. He'd only experienced one season, but expected the next to be twice as big. Kitty told him of her trip to Abilene as assistant cook on a drive during the war and being hired by Jim Witherspoon and then finally coming to Dodge to be hired by Bill. Then the conversation turned to having to earn a living the best way they knew how because of being thrown on their own devices at a young age. Learning they were both orphans was the first step on the road to friendship.

They felt comfortable with each other. Perhaps it was that both were orphans and had learned to be independent early. When her shift ended, Matt offered to escort her home. Chester was looking after the jail and had probably already turned in, so there was no need to stop there on the way. He walked her to the front door of Ma Smalley's and watched as she turned her key in the lock. He waited until she'd closed the door and he heard her lock it before he strode off the porch and walked around the corner of the building to the outside door that was the entrance to his room.

Kitty was a friendly person. Before long just about everyone was enamored of her. The girls she worked with accepted her as one of their leaders. Chester was smitten with her, but soon realized she much preferred the company of Mr. Dillon when given the choice. Doc found the young woman, still a girl really, since she was only 19 when they met, a charmer who welcomed his fatherly overtures. Soon she was coming to him for advice and he was happy to play the father. However, it was Matt who was transformed the most. Despite all his efforts to not become involved, he was drawn to her. He told her things he never would tell anyone else, not even Doc. It just felt right. Soon he was coming to her to talk about how best to approach whatever problem with local troublemakers was bothering him. After a month she'd become his best friend and he hers.

The lawman and the saloon gal looked forward to whatever moments they could snatch with each other. He asked her to go fishing with him one morning as their friendship deepened when she revealed that she loved fishing although she didn't have much chance to indulge in it. She'd only been a few times as a girl. They both knew there was no turning back after that March fishing expedition and picnic not long after she turned 20. The best friends were gradually becoming lovers. Kitty realized after the four friends celebrated Matt's 27th birthday in May of 1887 that he was everything she wanted in a man. She would gladly give up her independence to him at some future date. He resisted longer, but knew no other woman but Kitty could tempt him to consider any sort of relationship, friend or lover, even before he started escorting her to more visible events. He explained about the badge and family not mixing and the chancy nature of his job – a job he was sworn to do as long as he was physically able. The change was noticed by their two closest friends Doc and Chester even if they for the longest while pretended they hadn't.

By the time Matt asked Kitty to accompany him to something other than a buggy ride to a secluded fishing spot along the Arkansas or a nearby creek or pond most of the town accepted them as very close friends. It was more than 9 months since they first laid eyes on each other after all. They joked about Matt's new courting coat, but he still, after that first outing to the charity sociable led to her running crying back to the Long Branch and their first night together, acted in public like they were merely close friends. If he had to break a date last minute he felt Chester and Doc would escort her and, for the most part, she went along with it. Although it was never announced, she was his girl.

Their first night together brought back memories of that first time with Cole to Kitty. For Matt, although he wasn't without experience, it was as if he were making love for the first time and he wanted it to last forever. He thought of taking her upstairs to her room at the Long Branch, but it wasn't hers exclusively and too many men had been there before him. Instead, he decided to walk with her toward Ma Smalley's. When they arrived she thought he would bring her up to the front porch and give her a long passionate kiss goodnight after his comforting arms at their private sociable had dried her tears. Instead he steered her to the side of the building and the private entrance to his room. With his free hand he turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open before half lifting her over the threshold so she could more easily encircle his neck with her arms. When they were at the foot of his bed he stopped and held her in a powerful embrace as his lips sought and met hers, gradually deepening into a deep, passionate open-mouthed kiss.

While their mouths remained locked together, he grasped her shawl and let it drop from his fingertips to the floor. Then his fingers groped blindly for the buttons down the back of her gown as he pulled her even closer. Once he'd fully loosened it, he gently pushed the garment off her shoulders and down toward her waste. It was only then that he stepped back toward the bed and sat down to watch the dress slip off her to join the already discarded shawl while he at the same time pulled off his boots and tossed his courting coat aside. By the time he'd rid himself of his string tie she had stepped out of the gown and her petticoats and was walking slowly towards him.

"Come here Cowboy, " she cooed invitingly, "and help me with this corset, but only if you promise I can help you out of your shirt and pants. I'm willing to cut the distance between us in half unless you want me even closer to your bed."

Matt did as he was told, meeting her when she was three-quarters of the way to the bed. Soon he was clad only in his drawers and socks and she wore only her panties and stockings. They came together for a waltz that required no music other than their need for each other. His twirling steps brought them to the bed so that she was leaning against it. He moved them even closer so that she had no choice but to fall backwards onto the bed. In an instant he was falling slowly on top of her as he toed off his socks and reached for her one remaining article of clothing. At the same time she pulled his drawers down exposing his stiffening, already large manhood.

Matt moved far enough away from Kitty to pull her panties all the way down her legs and off and then completed the removal of his own remaining unmentionable. Kitty expected him to climb back on top of her and enter her right then. She certainly felt ready. He didn't. Instead his lips caressed her toes as his hands massaged her inner thighs. Ever so gradually he moved his fingers and then his mouth upward on her body until his lips were pulling at her nipples and his manhood was rubbing where his fingers and mouth had just been. When his lips were at the level of her own mouth he reached under her and helped her pull toward him as he entered her with what was more a stroke than a thrust. It seemed like hours before they were both seemingly spent, but after a short rest, she initiated a new dance. It was early morning before she departed for her own room in the main part of the house. She'd just closed her door when she heard Ma Smalley heading down the stairs to the kitchen to start her day.

Many more such nights and snatched moments during the day were to follow as the days stretched into weeks, months and years. As '67 became '68 and then '69, Matt and Kitty grew even closer in their private moments. Every action not directly related to their work was weighed in relation to what the other might think. Kitty did make one decision very much related both to her work and her ever deepening relationship with Matt. She stopped taking men up to her room at the Long Branch or visiting them in their rooms. He was now the only man she wanted to more than casually flirt with as a part of her job. Since Bill Pence was so pleased with her handling of the saloon's books that he offered to make her a full partner once she came up with the money she was looking forward to cutting back on the flirting as well. Then, in late May of '69, not long after they privately celebrated Matt's 29th birthday with her own special gift she had enough money to buy into the Long Branch. Matt, who had just returned from a trial, couldn't have been more proud. He beamed at the sight of the new sign proclaiming Russell and Pence as owners of the best saloon in Dodge City, but she was troubled by the telegram she received stating her father was on his way to see her just when everything was so right.

Kitty had begun to feel safe despite using her own name, especially now that she had Matt. She'd snuck out of Laredo and Mullins' Alhambra Saloon seven years ago. How did her father know where she was and why was he coming to see her now? She knew Cole returned to California after the war and was a bank robber among other things. She'd made it a practice to read about him whenever she got a hold of a California paper from a customer or drummer who was heading back east. She hadn't even contacted Julie Blane since the day she was forcibly taken from San Francisco. Surely her becoming half owner of the Long Branch wasn't newsworthy anywhere but Dodge City.

At first her father seemed genuinely interested in her friends and new life, but he began dropping hints as the dinner party he'd paid for was coming to an end. He even acted surprised that Matt would naturally offer to walk her back to the Long Branch. When she went for the buggy ride with her father the next morning she confronted him, starting with asking how he knew where she was and why he pretended to be upset because she owned a saloon. He'd gone out of his way at the party the night before to make it clear to her friends, especially Matt, that a proud lady of the Russell family would find owning a saloon beneath her.

"Father, how did you know where to find me? While I haven't exactly covered my tracks recently, I haven't communicated with anyone who might let you know even inadvertently where I went when I disappeared from Laredo."

"L'Hommedeu had his spies out all over. He didn't let on to Cole when he visited Abilene because his local spy knew you'd prevent Cole from seeing you in case he let Denis know where you were either mistakenly or because he was already aware of Denis' activities in regard to you. Marc sent men to every possible place you might be – men you didn't know. He didn't miss Abilene as a possible destination."

"If Marc L'Hommedeu told you where I was why didn't you object to me working in the Silver Slipper? Since you've come to Dodge you've had nothing good to say about me owning half of a saloon. If you care so much about where and how I'm living why didn't you come for me before? Back when I was still a schoolgirl why did you send me to live with Pan and then Julie instead of mother's people? I know you turned me over to Denis and Marc after Cole went to California. You knew the nature of their business and made sure I was good at cards before they took control. Answer me! You owe me at least that much."

"I'm a gambler, honey. I sent you to those two women because I wanted you to know how I earned my living and, in case you had a falling out with the Du Prees, how to earn a living without selling yourself. You're my daughter and I had more of a legal right to determine your upbringing than any of the other Russells or your mother's snobbish relatives who objected to her marrying me. At the same time, I kept out of your life because I wasn't in a position to take care of a girl growing into a woman. By the way, if you wanted to write to your friend Lucy you could have at any time after you arrived in Abilene. I told her father where you were and that you later moved to Dodge City. Before you ask, I believed both L'Hommedeus when they said they would keep you safe and only expose you to gambling in their establishments. When the war came, they convinced me that sending you to Laredo made sense. It was away from the fighting. It wasn't that hard."

"I'd like to believe you were that gullible, but I can't. What did they have on you? It better have been something powerful."

"I was into Marc for a huge sum. I'd lost way too much to his dealers on his riverboats. He promised to forgive my current and future debts if I didn't question his actions concerning you. If I did, he was going to call in that debt and leave me homeless and penniless and he'd have an even greater hold over your life. I'm offering you a chance to come back to New Orleans with me and come back to the life you deserve. All I ask in exchange is you obey me and help me gain as much profit as possible. I hear you're really good with all aspects of our mutual business."

"Yeah, I am. I can make sure whoever I want wins and no one the wiser. It helps us to turn a profit here at the Long Branch. I'm also now an expert on what men want. I've had to learn that to keep from being beaten or killed. The two combined is why Bill took me on as a partner and why I had the money to do it. As you well know my expertise in cards began when I was ten. The rest started when I was 13 thanks to you turning me over to the L'Hommedeus. Tell me, was it Cole's idea or did you convince him to leave for California until I was 16?"

"Cole wanted to stay in New Orleans and run his family's business, but Denis and his father sent him to California under threat of revealing to the authorities that he seduced an underage girl and had embezzled money from his father. He didn't know I knew what he'd done when he asked me for your hand and he didn't want to take any chances that I'd be told so he did what they suggested. If it's any consolation Cole really did love you. I don't know about now because after the war he went back to California and I haven't seen him since. I believe Denis told him about your move from Abilene to Dodge City."

In the end Kitty, with Matt's help, sent her father packing. She knew he only wanted to control her money by controlling her and cared nothing for her happiness. His debts had been his excuse to turn her into a whore, but his pride wouldn't let him admit that she was anything but the lady she was born to be. Her half ownership of the Long Branch kept him from ignoring reality, while it allowed Kitty to return to being the lady she always was deep down.

Four months later Cole Yankton came to town. Kitty remembered how she'd loved him back in New Orleans and that he shared that feeling then. When she met him on Front Street it seemed like a part of him still loved her just like a part of her still loved him. He was her first, but she had changed since then. She'd had a taste of being her own woman and liked it. Although she would always care for Cole, her feelings for Matt, the kindest, gentlest, most honorable man she'd ever known went much deeper than that. They were more than a man and a woman attracted to each other; they were soul mates – best friends and devoted lovers.

Kitty knew it hurt Matt that she was openly kissing Cole, but it was almost too easy to get back into their old relationship. She thought maybe if she and Matt broke their routine somewhat she could sort things out and tell Cole there was someone new in her life that she couldn't betray no matter what. That's why she talked him into taking her to the Mexican restaurant at the far edge of the other side of town. As if to spite her, that's when Cole and his friends robbed the bank. After Cole died in Doc's office from the gunshot wound Matt inflicted on him she was finally able to tell him everything, even more than she told him in front of Doc. Doc had become the father she never really had, especially after her father's recent return and she now hoped permanent departure from her life, but there are some things a girl tells her boyfriend that she'd never tell her dad.


	8. Chapter 8 New Day of Hope and Fear

**A New Day of Hope and Fear**

The sun was peeking in through the window when they awoke as the beautiful redhead stirred ever so slightly. Matt and Doc gazed at her with concern and then joy as her eyelids fluttered open.

"I might have known. My two favorite men spent the night with me. I have two questions. Will I live? Is he gone for good?"

After receiving a positive answer to her inquiries, Kitty drifted back to sleep and both men stood up to stretch their tired limbs. They then resumed their vigil until Chester came upstairs with breakfast trays and Kitty awoke again to smile at the three people who made up her Dodge City family.

Since Kitty was now seemingly out of danger, Doc went off to see his other patients and Matt went back to his office to see what Chester was up to and to catch up on the endless paperwork. He thought he might be able to complete his report on killing Denis L'Hommedeu and contact his people in New Orleans so the body could be shipped home for burial. As soon as he finished he planned to return to Kitty's bedside and let Laura Simmons, one of the Long Branch girls and Bill Pence's girl, get on with her work. When Doc got back he'd make his rounds. If she slept long enough, he might even grab a bite to eat from some place other than the Long Branch. If she didn't, Doc had left instructions for him and Laura about getting some beef broth into her and easing her pain with laudanum. So far, what fever she had was low grade and a cool, damp cloth seemed to be keeping it in check and thankfully, there was no sign of infection.

That would be later. Right now he had to write that report and try not to think about how close he'd come to losing her. Although he normally despised having to kill, Matt felt no remorse about killing L'Hommedeu, even now that he knew Kitty had at least a 50% chance of full recovery. When Doc answered her question he hadn't been entirely truthful. The only reason the odds were that high was she'd managed to make it through the night. He longed to get back to her and the only way was to finish that danged report. His frenzied mind kept returning to what might go wrong while he was away from her side and he kept expecting Laura to come running into the office to tell him his fears had come true.

Finally, the report done, he rose from his desk and headed toward the post office to mail it and wire New Orleans. The onerous tasks complete, Matt stood in front of the building trying to decide if he should find Doc and Chester and have a bite to eat before going to see Kitty or go right to her rooms at the Long Branch. He was again lost in thought and almost didn't see the stranger heading toward him. By the look of him, he was from somewhere back east and was no drummer. His clothes were too finely made for that. They were probably stylish too, but Matt knew nothing of fashion and cared even less.

"Marshal Dillon, I was told you're the one I should see about shipping my son's body from your undertaker back to New Orleans. Before I do that, I wonder if you would clear up for me just how he was killed and the final dispensation of his business here."

"L'Hommedeu, I didn't think travel between Dodge and New Orleans was that quick. I just now sent a telegram to you. Feel free to take your boy's remains at any time, although there's not another train until tomorrow that will connect you with the train to New Orleans. You just missed today's train. His business here ended when I told him to get out of Dodge."

"I'm afraid until I bring the merchandise back with me, Denis' business, which is mine as well, is far from concluded. It would have been much simpler had it been concluded last June then neither of us would have ever had to come to this ugly little town after Yankton's untimely demise. Why on earth would you attempt to throw my son out of town when all he was doing was collecting on a debt by claiming what had been given in collateral. Of course, I don't expect a cow town marshal to understand high end business."

"I think it's you who doesn't understand and I'm a United States Marshal, not just the marshal here in Dodge City. I kicked your son out of town for trying to take a woman from her place of business against her will, claiming she belonged to him. I'm certain you're aware that in this country slavery is no longer allowed and women can own businesses and lead lives without the consent of a man once they are of age. Let me spell it out for you. In this case, neither her father nor your son could tell her what to do with her money or where to go or with whom. The same holds true for you."

"All right Marshal, I see I underestimated you. You understand the business involved the Russell girl. Although she was still a minor when she came under contract to my son and I, by agreement with her father and her betrothed, those contracts are still in effect. Young Yankton is now dead, at your hands I may add, so the clause about Denis not possessing her inside as well as out is null and void, but the remainder is still in effect. Cole Yankton died in debt to our enterprises and the fulfillment of that contract is the payment. Her father's contract with me also lacks any mitigating factors since he was unable to bring her back to New Orleans and turn over the money she used to buy into the saloon where she lives and works. I've let her earnings that are due me slide too long after the successful training she received under my tutelage at the hands of my employees. She owes me far too much to void her father's contract that signs her services as I deem them over to me. It's all business and has nothing to do with slavery. You may consider it job security for her, but thus far you haven't told me who murdered my son."

"I killed your son after he forced Kitty to take him to her rooms and then shot her when I came through the door. I should have shot him the first time he grabbed her downstairs instead of kicking him out of town. Kitty Russell is her own woman. She belongs to no man and is free to choose how she behaves with any man she chooses to spend time with. Nobody can force her to do anything. I shot your son because he broke the law and resisted arrest. Even among the rich of New Orleans attempted murder is a crime. Despite what he did, I gave him a chance to give himself up. Instead he tried to kill me too, but I was quicker."

"You may have enough power in this backwater town to hide behind that badge of yours, but you had no right to steal that whore from a L'Hommedeu. I know you claim her as your own. How much did you pay the owner of the Long Branch for her name to appear above the door and for her services whenever you want them? Don't think you can try to supplant me without consequences! I hope as you lay dying you still think the whore was worth it."

Matt's reply was a quick right fist to the jaw that knocked the older man to the ground. He then pulled him to his feet and propelled him further down the street where L'Hommedeu managed to pull himself to a sitting position before eating the Front Street dirt.

"L'Hommedeu, I suggest you take the next stage out of town," Matt said to his back. I'll send your son's remains to you on the train. If you don't, I'll lock you in a jail cell with as many charges as I can manage to throw at you. One more insult to Kitty and I just might forget I'm a lawman and kill you where you sit. Given the circumstances, a jury might acquit me."

Marc L'Hommedeu picked himself up and strode toward the Dodge House as Matt glared after him. No longer hungry, Matt walked purposefully to the Long Branch. Once inside, he climbed the stairs three at a time and almost ran into Kitty's room. He was still angry, but the anger turned to a smile when he saw Laura spoon feeding broth to the love of his life.

"Laura, I'll take over for you. Bill might need you downstairs."

"Hello, Cowboy. I wondered where you and Doc got off to when I woke up and found only Laura here," Kitty said as soon as Laura left the room. "How 'bout a special treat for a recovering friend?"

"I know what you're angling for young lady. I just might oblige you if you finish all your broth."

"Is that a fact?"

"That's a fact. The quicker you finish, the sooner you get your reward, that is if you're up to it."

Kitty emptied the bowl in less than a minute and looked up expectantly at Matt. He planted a tender kiss on her forehead and then kissed her softly on the lips.

"That second one was for still being here for me to give you the first reward. Rest easy now. I don't want Doc to skin me alive for endangering your recovery."

"Cowboy, just being with you will speed my recovery, so your little gifts only add further incentive. If Doc asks you can tell him his nurse has her own prescription, doctors orders or not."

"My nurse? Who might that be? I only see my patient and our mutual friend who's agreed to help her regain her strength, but seems to be going about it in a strange way."

Marc L'Hommedeu didn't return to his hotel room. Instead, he knocked on the door of a room down the hall that, like his, faced Front Street. When he received an answer, he turned the handle and walked in through the now open door. The man whose room it was didn't turn his head from the window where he sat watching the comings and goings in the Long Branch.

"Carl, what have you to report to me? We'll have to kill the marshal before we take her from her saloon room. He murdered Denis when he was merely dealing as he saw fit with L'Hommedeu property and knocked me down in the street for as he quaintly put it, 'insulting a very good friend of mine.' The man's way more trouble than Ted Thompkins ever was. At least Thompkins had a sister and fiancé that were more important, so all you had to do was bring her back and let him think she'd repaid him for his kindness at that trial."

"The doctor just entered the premises, boss, and the marshal hasn't come back out. He's been there for a half-hour. Yeah, Matt Dillon's sure a thorn in the side. I sure wouldn't mind putting an end to his worthless life. I thought he had promise when I tried to recruit him for the cause back at the start of the war, but he went and joined a Union Calvary unit instead. It was one of my few misjudgments of character. The last time I saw him was outside Laredo when his unit crossed our path that time I was bringing Red back from San Francisco to Mullins and the Alhambra."

"That girl has more gumption and brains than we gave her credit for, seeing as she's a female. Carl, you're one of the few people I'd admit this to, but I should never have allowed her to remain on her own for as long as I did. We should have brought her back to New Orleans long before she left Abilene for Dodge City. I had enough on Yankton and Russell to keep them in line and still get the maximum out of the gal. At least I don't have to worry about the Blanes anymore and I'll soon have Panacea Sykes' business under my control. My son-in-law is working on it. The woman, being female, ain't as smart as she thinks."

Boss and hireling discussed the situation and the solution as both men continued to watch the saloon across the street through a spyglass and field glasses. They hadn't believed Russell's report when he returned but now knew he was telling the truth, Kitty Russell actually was an equal partner in the Long Branch respected for her business acumen and way with the customers. Carl Beaumont, who'd been in and out of Dodge since before Wayne Russell called upon his daughter, heard his boss confirm what he'd chosen not to believe. Matt Dillon wasn't pimping Red, she was his only so far as she wanted to be and he was willing to commit publicly. Also, he preferred she not prostitute herself, a preference she shared.

The two men ceased their vigil long enough to have supper in the hotel dining room. Then Beaumont returned to keep watch from his room while L'Hommedeu paid a visit to the undertaker to make arrangements for a fancier casket to be ready for shipping on the train the next day. When he left, he saw the marshal's naïve and lame assistant.

"Chester Goode, isn't it? You may tell your boss that I've decided it's best that I accompany my son's body back to New Orleans since it took more time than I thought to arrange for a more appropriate casket. I'll remain in my hotel room until it's time for departure so he shan't be troubled by the sight of me."

After a short stop in Beaumont's room to check on the latest events of concern, L'Hommedeu returned to his own room. He turned in when the marshal left the Long Branch to head to his bed. Beaumont went to sleep as soon as Doctor Adams headed back to his quarters for his own night of rest. Boss and hired man would meet just before dawn and see to securing their package from her room at the saloon before dealing with Dillon. A little chloroform and a quick transfer to a trunk should do the trick for the former.

Matt said his goodnights to Chester at the jailhouse and walked toward his room. He stepped inside long enough to light a lamp and act as if he were spending the night there. He even mussed up the bed after turning down the lamp just in case he'd been followed. Once his eyes adjusted to the dimness and he was sure Doc had left Kitty's bedside for his own bed, he walked through the back alleys, keeping to the shadows, to the back door of the Long Branch and climbed the inside back stairs. When he reached her door, he knocked softly, letting her know he'd arrived, before turning his key in the lock. Kitty opened her eyes and moved over on the bed to give him room. In no time, Matt was stripped to his union suit and had joined her under the sheets. Just in case, since L'Hommedeu was still in town, he hung his gun belt on the headboard instead of on the peg with his hat. Giving her a quick kiss goodnight on the cheek, he lay back listening to her breathing gradually take on the rhythm of someone in a deep, and he hoped, healing sleep. Only then, did he allow himself to drift off.

Matt awoke before dawn and was about to rise when he heard the sounds of someone expert picking the lock and succeeding. Instead, he grabbed his gun and held it under the covers while he feigned sleep, watching the two men enter through the slits of his alert blue eyes. He waited until both men drew closer and realized Kitty wasn't alone in the bed. They retreated long enough to grab a cushion to deaden the sound of their pistols, thinking their prey was still asleep, affording them the opportunity to accomplish both of their morning tasks at once. Matt waited until they aimed toward the pillow, which was pointed toward him, and fired twice before they could get off a shot. Both men fell dead.

Matt quickly pulled on his clothes before somebody came running at the sound of the shots to investigate. He'd just finished buckling on his gun belt when the door burst open and Bill Pence and Laura Simmons came rushing into the room. They looked in surprise from the marshal to the two dead men on the floor to Kitty slowly raising herself on her pillows.

Before anyone else could say anything, Matt spoke, "I thought since L'Hommedeu was still in town he might give Kitty trouble, so I waited here for him. I was surprised to see two of them but their attempt to silence the sound of their shots gave me enough time to get both of them. Looks like three coffins will be shipped on today's train to New Orleans. Any of you know who the second man is? I've seen him around, but he never seemed to cause trouble or stay long so I didn't bother to check too closely on him."

"I know all about him, Matt," Kitty replied. "He's worked for L'Hommedeu for years. His name's Carl Beaumont."

"Now that you say his name, there's something familiar about him. If he was in Texas back just before the war, he's the man who tried to recruit me for special assignment with the Rebel Army."

"He was there on special assignment for L'Hommedeu. Do you think one of you could arrange to get their bodies out of my room? I'm glad they're dead and won't cause me any more trouble, but I don't particularly want to be alone with their remains. Matt, please stay. Even though they're dead, I feel safer with you next to me."

Matt sent the other two to finish dressing and round up enough men to deal with the bodies and fetch Doc. Once Bill and Laura were gone, he sat back on the bed and cradled Kitty in his arms. He knew he wouldn't have much time to stop her from shaking before Doc arrived. His gunfire had awakened her, but the scene playing out in front of her had caused her to tremble.

"Cowboy, I thought I was dreaming when I heard gunshots. I thought Denis was shooting me again and then shot you before I lost consciousness. Then I opened my eyes and you were sitting beside me with your gun in your hand. I'm sure glad you had a gut feeling L'Hommedeu might try something."

"Easy now, Kitty. It's all over. You're safe, but you've got to stop trembling. You don't want to give Doc anymore ammunition against me do you?"

As Matt finished talking, Doc rapped on the door and entered to see a smiling Kitty leaning into the marshal, who was sitting beside her on the bed. He stroked his mustache and raised an eyebrow as he looked at them and the two dead men, but said nothing. Whatever quip might have been on his lips remained there as Chester came through the door with Bill and a couple of other local men to remove the bodies.


End file.
